


The Floor Beneath Our Feet (Trying to be Perfect)

by wolfelements



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Child Abuse, Edward Cullen is an ass, Hyena Xander, Imprinting, Jasper is awesome, M/M, Xander's Uncle Rory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-07 00:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6775933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfelements/pseuds/wolfelements
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And that was how Xander Harris became friends with a coven of vampires. The worst part was that his life was about to get weirder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Floor Beneath Our Feet (Trying to be Perfect)

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place sometime in late Season 2-3 for Buffy.
> 
> Twilight? Well, it barely has a plot so it doesn't matter anyway. Curse Xander Harris for wanting to play in that world. (I've read the first two books, saw the first two movies, and gained all other information from the amazing Mark Reads Twilight which is better than Twilight. -- I am a Twilight slash fanfic fan though, fans write better then Meyers which will forever make me laugh.)

It took Xander a moment to fully awaken, his mind shifting through recent memories to explain what he was doing in a bed different than his own. And then the heavy weight of his cast caught his attention and he remembered. This was his home now.

Downstairs he could hear his Uncle Rory moving around, possibly even making breakfast. Which was a bit of a shock to Xander’s already sensitive system. There were no loud words of aggression, no distant drone of the television, and no sudden silence of his mother trying to pretend the world away. He’d only been here for three days and it wasn’t enough to get him to adjust to the idea of a stable morning filled with scrambled eggs and a welcoming smile.

Xander pushed himself off the bed and onto his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that swept through him at the movement. Apparently, he was still suffering a lasting impression of the concussion he had been given just a week ago. His wrist itched, but he knew better than to try and find something to scratch it with. He had experience with accidentally breaking pencils inside a cast.

He rubbed at his face and hair, before standing. He took longer to get ready than usual, no thanks to the frustrating activity of fighting to cover his cast with a bag so he could take a quick shower. Finally, he was downstairs where his Uncle Rory was waiting for him.

Rory watched him with an unreadable expression. It was one that closely resembled the mask that graced his father’s features for weeks after a recent…Xander cut his thoughts off and sat down before the plate of food. He couldn’t meet his uncle’s eyes, but that didn’t stop the man from speaking. “I talked to Charlie’s girl last night.”

Xander’s mind raced through the few people he’d met since being forced to move to Forks, Washington with Rory, before they landed on the girl next door who had seemed overly obsessed with some guy she was dating. Xander distinctly remembered meeting her years ago when he had visited his uncle as a child, long before his aunt had died and his father had further isolated the family from relatives. 

Rory stared at him from the end of the hospital bed, mouth tilted downward. “And to think, I showed up to ensure you learned to drive and I ended up saving your butt instead. Remind me why I haven’t spent more time kicking my brother’s ass?”

“She’s willing to give you a ride to school,” Rory continued, pulling Xander away from his memories. 

“I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb, aren’t I?” he asked.

“Well…probably,” his uncle replied. “Bella won’t mind. It’ll take the attention off of her, though why people still look at her like she’s a shiny new toy when she’s been here for months is beyond me.” Rory shrugged and sent Xander a half-smile. “Welcome to small town life.”

“And I thought Sunnydale was bad.”

Rory chuckled, but sobered at the expression on Xander’s face. “Look, I know this is hard for you. Moving isn’t easy on anyone and with what happened…for what it’s worth, if I had known it was that bad I would have got you out of there a lot sooner.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” he said, nodding. He knew Rory was just trying to make him feel better. Up until about a year ago, his uncle had been just as much of a friend of drinking as his father was. Unlike Xander’s father, though, one DUI and drunken wreck too many had taught Rory his lesson.

“You’re going to be okay here, Xander,” Rory said softly. Xander had a feeling he had more to say, but a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Rory let out a breath and forced yet another smile. “That would probably be Bella. Your backpack is by the door.”

Fifteen minutes later, Xander found himself climbing out of Bella’s monstrous truck and into the school parking lot. Their ride had been spent in uneasy silence after Bella had asked about the broken wrist and fading bruising along his neck and jaw line. Xander just hoped the rest of the teenagers of Forks weren’t as likely to poke at topics that should be ignored like Bella Swan. 

They had barely made it a foot away from the truck when a very pale guy with ridiculous hair appeared next to Bella’s side. Bella smiled up at the guy with an expression that reminded Xander of Buffy and Angel, only much worse. “Edward, I’d like you to meet my new neighbor. This is Xander Harris. He just moved here from Sunnydale, California. Xander, this is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen.”

“Hey,” Xander greeted, momentarily struggling with his backpack. The weight of the bag was pressing against one of the bruises on his shoulder, but he couldn’t seem to find a more comfortable position for it. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Edward replied. 

Xander glanced over his shoulder to find a small group of strangers tagging along behind them. While they didn’t exactly resemble Edward, Xander could tell they were somewhat related from the Cordelia-type clothing and nearly white skin. He turned his gaze back toward Edward, who was watching him with a pensive look on his face. Xander shifted his bag again and cleared his throat. “Uh, Bella? I’m going to head to the office. Thanks for the ride.”

*

The people of Forks, Washington were in desperate need of entertainment. He had thought that Sunnydale was bad when Buffy had shown up, but Forks totally beat that one as far as making the new guy feel like a black sheep. He wasn’t sure what was creepier, the fact that people kept staring at him or that a total stranger had stopped him in the hall to ask if they could sign his cast.

He somehow managed to make it to lunch without having to see Bella and Edward, though he did share one class with a girl that turned out to be Edward’s sister, Alice. 

When he got to the cafeteria he was immediately grabbed by Alice and pulled toward her family’s table. Bella sent him a small wave as they approached, looking amused at Alice’s determination for him to join them. She gently forced him into a chair between her and a large looking guy that was too busy fawning over the blonde version of Cordelia to notice him sitting down. 

“You’re going to join us from now on,” Alice informed him, before rolling her eyes. “Unless you have a problem with sitting with us weirdos.”

“I’m getting sick and tired of your weird little friends, Alexander,” his father’s voice boomed as Xander felt himself being grabbed from behind. “You spend more time with those freaks than you do at home!”

Xander forced a smile. “I have no problem with the endangered species known as the weirdo. I approve of it, in fact.” Across the table he could see Edward turn to stare at him, his mouth pulled into a slight frown. Xander quickly looked down at his food and picked up his fork. He poked at the brown mush found there. “And here I was hoping the cafeteria food outside of Sunnydale wouldn’t include mystery meat. It must be a universal truth.”

“It does look disgusting,” Alice agreed, her nose scrunching up in a way that reminded Xander of Willow. 

He felt a rush of homesickness before he noticed that aside from Bella and him none of the others were actually eating. “Okay, do I need to worry about the food here, or are you guys giving it up for Lent?”

“Please,” the regal looking blonde sniffed disdainfully, “like I would touch that food with a ten foot pole.”

“Rosalie—“ Edward started.

“No, no,” Xander interrupted, sending her a sincere smile. “I wouldn’t expect someone of your stature to eat it, but the rest of us hardly measure up to you, so…”

Rosalie looked like she wasn’t sure if she was offended or flattered. He hid a smirk. Dealing with Cordelia on a daily basis had taught him the finer points of blending veiled insults and selective comments. He heard Edward make a slight noise of disbelief, but ignored it. 

That was the first of many lunches with the Cullen family. They seemed amused with his ability to talk without actually saying anything. Xander found he didn’t mind their company, though watching the freak romance of Bella and Edward was something he could have done without. Still, they didn’t pester him about things that he didn’t want to talk about. Never once did they ask why he had moved to Forks or how he had broken his wrist. 

In fact, the only acknowledgment he received was when Alice started drawing delicate flowers and silhouettes of birds on the cast’s surface during lunch.

After about a week, though, Xander was starting to feel his Sunnydale radar pick up as he watched the family interact. At first he assumed that they all had delicate stomachs and probably ate the moment they got home, but there were times when the school’s food really wasn’t that bad. Besides, if they hated cafeteria food so much why didn’t they just bring their own?

And then there was the cold skin, which he frequently felt every time Alice touched him. She was the only one that did so and it was like she knew that he found comfort in her gentle and clearly feminine physical affection. At first he’d been nervous about it, especially with Jasper sitting right there looking like he had a never-ending migraine, but all it took was a vague smile from the other man to put Xander at ease. He was used to Buffy and Willow. Alice was the closest thing he could get to them at the moment.

There was also the hard press of Alice’s body against his when she hugged him goodbye after school, a secretive smile on her face like she knew something he didn’t. In those moments she felt like stone or frozen muscle stuck mid-coil. 

All of this slowly built in Xander’s mind, occasionally popping up only to be pushed back down. He had other things to worry about, after all. He had a school to adjust to and friends to contact every night. He also had distant calls from social workers keeping him and Rory updated on what was happening with his parents and the abuse charges his uncle had filed. He didn’t like to think about it and usually he managed to avoid those thoughts, but occasionally he couldn’t help but fret.

He was sitting at the lunch table during one of those moments, ignoring the food on his plate as well as the conversation around him. He could see Edward glancing over at him occasionally with the strained expression he had developed every time Xander got lost in his own thoughts. 

“They’re giving your uncle custody, so you don’t have to worry,” Alice suddenly said, staring at Xander intently. “It’ll be official next week.”

The table fell into silence. And all Xander could think about was the fact that Alice sometimes reminded him of Drusilla, if Drusilla hadn’t been tortured and turned into a vampire. 

“Oh my god,” Xander breathed, sitting back. They were all looking at him funny, like they couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. Everyone except Edward and Alice, that is. As they all stared, everything clicked into place and he couldn’t believe his own thoughts. There was no way he was sitting at a table full of vampires. 

He stood quickly and stumbled toward the doorway, desperately needing to regain his sanity. He was to the door when a hand grabbed his arm, almost hard enough to bruise. He looked up to see Edward’s angry eyes seconds before Edward was dragging him out of the cafeteria and around the building. His mind had enough time to laugh over the fact that the sun never appeared in Forks just before he was shoved against the brick of the school.

Pain shot through him as his back first connected with the oak desk and then the wall. He wondered, distantly, if there would be a dent in the plaster. He slid to the ground, head swimming, as the dark shadow loomed over him. A hard grip took hold of his arm, as though to hold him steady, just as pain erupted across his jaw as a fist connected. “You’ll never learn, boy.”

“Xander, stop!” Edward’s voice cut through his mind and he blinked up at Edward, catching Edward’s look of anger and disgust. Edward’s face suddenly cleared, returning to a smooth mask though it did nothing to hide the emotions in his voice. “I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at…I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Could have fooled me,” he snapped, jerking his arm out of Edward’s hold. He would have felt triumphant if he didn’t have the distinct feeling that Edward had let him get free. “What do you want?”

“I…” Edward sighed and looked away. “We’re not what you think. Not really.”

“Oh, and I guess you can read my thoughts, huh?” Xander scoffed, before he noticed Edward wince. “Shit, you can read my thoughts.”

There was a pause, before Edward nodded.

“You can read my thoughts and Alice can see the future,” he said. He threw his hands up, nearly hitting Edward in the forehead with his cast. “Didn’t I leave Sunnydale to avoid this shit?”

“I thought you left because of…” Edward trailed off, clearly realizing that he was stepping on dangerous territory with that topic. 

“Just, please tell me there aren’t anymore surprises?” he begged. He could handle vampires. He was from Sunnydale, after all, but there was only so much he could tolerate in one sitting. “No more powers? Bella isn’t secretly a witch, is she? Oh God, please tell me Rosalie can’t read minds, too.”

Edward chuckled. “No, though Jasper is an empathic. Aside from that, there really aren’t any other secrets we’re hiding.”

“So. Vampires, huh?” He frowned. “Shouldn’t you be hiding in a crypt somewhere? And why are you hanging out with humans? If you’re about to tell me you all have souls then…well, I’m going to have words with Angel, because I knew his woe-is-me, I’m the only vampire with a soul thing was just bullshit.”

“Like I said before, we’re not what you think,” Edward told him. “We’re a different kind of vampire. I’m not sure how to explain it. Carlisle was always better at vampire folklore than me.”

“Well, a part of me wants to find a sharp piece of wood right about now, but seeing how you’re torturing yourself with high school? I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here.”

There was a happy sound and Xander saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye a second before Alice had him pulled into a tight, nearly bone crushing hug. “I knew you’d accept us! You have to come over for dinner! Esme wants to cook for you.”

And that was how Xander Harris became friends with a coven of vampires. The worst part was that his life was about to get weirder. 

*

“Look, Giles, all that I’m saying is that I…” Xander trailed off, sighing. He threw himself onto his bed, holding the phone to his ear. “I kind of believe them.”

“Vampires are fully capable of lying, Xander,” Giles informed him. There was shuffling in the background, along with a female voice growing near. “Buffy, I’m speaking with Xander—“ Another voice joined Buffy’s. “Honestly, you can speak to him in a moment, I’m trying to—“ The voices got higher pitched. “Fine, fine. Xander?”

“Yeah?” he asked, laughing.

“Is it alright if I put you on speaker?”

“Sure thing, G-Man.” There was a click and the noises in the background got louder. “Hey, girls.”

“Xander!” Willow squealed. He felt himself grin. Even though they talked nearly every night, Willow always managed to act like it had been years since they last spoke. “How are you? How was your day? Is that Bella girl still being gross with her boyfriend?”

“Slow down, Wills,” Buffy interrupted. “What were you two talking about, anyway?”

“Funny you should ask…” Xander trailed off nervously. 

“It appears,” Giles said, “that Xander has come across vampires in Forks, Washington.”

“What?” Buffy demanded. “Did you stake them? Oh my god, Giles! Does this mean I get to take a road trip?”

Xander could practically imagine Giles cleaning his glasses right about then. He chuckled. “Guys, actually, that’s the thing…I’m pretty sure they’re vampires, but at the same time they don’t act like real vampires. I hate to say it, but they kind of act like, well, Angel. Only not as broody and less annoying. Although, Edward is kind of…”

“Wait, your neighbor is dating a vampire?” Willow asked.

“Vampires are vampires, Xander, unless they have souls,” Buffy said. “And Angel’s the only vampire with a soul.”

“Yeah, right,” he muttered, and then jumped ahead before Buffy could take offense, “They go to school, Buffy. How many vampires do you know that have not only the attention span but the dedication to go to high school? And they actually do their homework. Alice is the top student in half of my classes and don’t get me started on Jasper’s history scores.”

“As I was saying before the girls showed up,” Giles said, “Vampires have been known to go to great lengths to fulfill a plan.”

“Exactly,” Buffy interjected. “I’ll take a weekend to come visit you and take care of your vampire problem. Easy-peasy!”

“That being said,” Giles continued as though Buffy hadn’t said a word, “there is the possibility that they are a different breed of vampire.”

“That’s what Edward said,” Xander admitted. “He couldn’t explain it, but he claimed they weren’t the type of vampire I was thinking about. But, seriously, Giles, what other types of vampires are there and why haven’t we run into them before?”

“It’s not exactly classified properly by the Watcher’s Council, to be honest,” Giles admitted. “Some Watchers claim that the lumen vampire is actually a different demon altogether and yet others say they don’t exist. If they do exist then it’s a possibility that the vampires that you’ve encountered in Forks are indeed lumen vampires. Lumen meaning light in the Latin, of course. The more common vampire that Buffy fights is considered, by those that believe in the two variants, as shadow vampires.”

“What’s the difference?” Buffy asked.

“Lumen are less demonic,” Giles said. “They aren’t harmed by holy objects and are much stronger. There is some talk on whether they still have their souls, but there is so little known about them we can’t be sure. Their society is very safe guarded. In fact, I’m shocked they told you at all, Xander.”

“I kind of figured it out myself,” he replied. “Edward…he’s got some form of telepathy, so he knew that I had realized it. I guess they didn’t see the point in trying to correct me.”

“Well, that’s honest,” Willow offered.

“So, no road trip?” Buffy asked, her tone indicating that she was pouting.

“No, as long as Xander takes precautions around them, everything should be fine,” Giles said.

“Uh, yeah, about that,” he replied, “apparently their mother…or what counts as their mother wants to cook for me. She has this thing about it and Bella thinks the perfect cure is for her to have to feed a teenage boy. Seeing how the only human she gets to cook for is Bella, who looks like the type to starve herself in order to make herself look prettier, I can get why she’s so gung-ho about me coming over.”

There was a moment of silence over the phone, before Willow giggled. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously,” he laughed. “These vampires are freaks, let me tell you.”

“I think it’s time to bring out the holy water handshake,” Buffy announced. “If holy water doesn’t hurt these lumos--“

“Lumen,” Giles corrected.

“Exactly,” Buffy huffed. “If it doesn’t hurt them then a holy water soaked handshake should tell you if that’s what they are. Right?”

“It’s not like Xander can just try to stake them and see if that works,” Willow commented.

“Add in the fact that I kind of don’t want to have to,” Xander said. “I hate to say it, seeing how I’m usually all anti-vampire, but I like a couple of them. Sure, Edward is…well, words don’t describe the creepy feeling I get from him, but Alice is pretty awesome. And I kind of want to talk Emmett into getting into a fight with Angel, just so I can watch Angel get his ass kicked.”

“Hey!” Buffy protested.

*

Xander groaned and leaned back in his chair. He fought the urge to undo the top button of his jeans just to relieve some of the pressure. He turned toward the female vampire sitting across from him and smiled. “You, Mrs. Cullen, have just accomplished the impossible.”

“Xander, I told you,” she said, “please call me Esme.”

“Sorry, Esme,” he corrected, before reaching for his drink. “I never thought I’d meet someone who could manage to make a teenage boy admit to being full, but you have succeeded.”

“You certainly have a healthy appetite,” Carlisle commented with a small smile.

“You’re just a trashcan, Alexander,” his father said in disgust. “We spend way too much money feeding you and all you do is eat, eat, eat. Are you even listening to me!” A hard smack echoed through the room and Xander felt tears well up at the pain that suddenly flared across his face. “A worthless trashcan.”

“Uh, yeah,” Xander replied, swallowing. He glanced around the table, noting the sudden worried glances as the vampires present noticed the increase in his heartbeat, and sighed as a rush of calm ran over him. He shot Jasper a look of thanks. “I really appreciate you cooking for me, Esme. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Of course not,” Esme said, “I would do the same for any of my children’s friends.”

“Not that we made the habit of making human friends before you two came along,” Rosalie huffed. 

“Thank you for gracing me with such a rare gift, Rosalie,” Xander replied, grinning when she glared. Inwardly, he thanked her for the distraction almost as much as he thanked Jasper for his emotional control. He didn’t know why memories of his father appeared at moments like these, when he wasn’t anywhere near in danger, but he was thankful that he was around people that didn’t make a point to ask him if he was okay. Clearing his throat, Xander reached for his plate. “I should take this to the kitchen.”

“Oh, let us get that!” Alice piped up, shooting him a sly grin. “You know, Edward and Bella are still out in the backyard. You should join them.”

“I really don’t want to interrupt one of their moments,” he admitted. Edward and Bella really were Forks’ version of the Buffy and Angel affair, only less homicidal and more teenage angst ridden. Xander didn’t have the patience for it.

“Trust me,” she said. 

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you saw me going out there,” Xander stated. Both Emmett and Jasper chuckled, no doubt thinking of the many times they were subjected to Alice’s visionary whim. He lifted his hands in defeat. “Alright, I’m going.”

“Hey, come back in if Edward starts quoting Shakespeare,” Emmett called, “and I’ll kick your ass on the Xbox.”

He sent the man a wave of agreement, before shaking his head in wonder. He was suddenly stuck in a town where vampires not only went to high school, but also played video games. This place was like the antithesis of Sunnydale.

He made it to the back door before he heard the sound of Bella talking. He couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear that she was not in a good mood. Great. Did he really want to get involved in a lover’s spat like this? He took a few steps closer, not bothered by the fact that he was eavesdropping. Odds were that Edward already knew he was there, anyway.

“I don’t see why I can’t go visit him,” Bella was saying, her tone clearly indicating an incoming pout. “He won’t hurt me, Edward, and he’s one my best friends. You know what those are, right, friends?”

“Bella,” Edward interrupted with a sigh, “I just don’t like you going there alone. What if something happens? It’s dangerous around them.”

“I’ve known Jacob for most of my life,” Bella protested.

“Well, I don’t know him and I don’t trust him,” Edward replied.

Xander rolled his eyes and walked the last few feet that led him off the back porch and into the backyard. Bella looked up as he approached, a scowl fighting to appear on her face. He ignored her, giving his full attention to Edward, who was grimacing. “You really are bad with women.”

Bella snorted.

“The first rule of womenfolk is to not try and control them,” Xander said. “You’d think living with Rosalie and Alice would have taught you that by now.”

“Look, this doesn’t involve you,” Edward started. 

“Nah, it really doesn’t, but I can see where this control issue of yours is going,” he replied. His mind momentarily flashed with images of his father and mother, of her crying late at night because his father’s control was slowly killing her.

Edward looked away, a pained expression crossing his face. “It’s not like that, Xander. I would never hurt Bella. I’m not like your—“

“You might want to shut up there, vampire boy,” Xander interrupted. He turned to Bella, who was watching them with a frown. “So, where is it he’s so paranoid about you visiting?”

“La Push,” he said.

“La-what-now?”

She giggled. “La Push, it’s the Quileute reservation that my friend Jacob lives at. Edward and Jacob don’t really get along.”

“Yeah, so I gathered.” Xander clapped his hands together and grinned. “Well, I’ve never been on a reservation before. How about I go with you? That way vampire boy won’t get his knickers in a twist because I’ll be there watching out for you and I get to be introduced to a culture shock. It’ll be good times for everyone.”

Bella beamed. “Really? That would be wonderful!”

“I don’t think—“ Edward began with a frown.

“No, sometimes you really don’t,” Xander said with a shake of his head. “I think you spend so much time in other people’s heads that you forget its okay to live in your own. Calm down. I’m used to fighting vampires and demons on a nightly basis. I think I can watch over your girlfriend for a day. How tough can a regular guy named Jacob be?”

“Wait…did you say demons?” Bella asked.

“Oh, huh, I kind of forgot to tell you guys about that part, didn’t I?” he replied.

*

He stared at the vampires sitting around the room, fighting down the desire to giggle at their expressions. How was it an entire group of supernatural creatures were so ignorant when it came to the dark side of the world? They had known about the shadow vampires, witches, and even shape shifters, but the idea of demons just threw them for a loop.

“That’s why you had holy water on your hand when you arrived, isn’t it?” Jasper asked, his normally vague voice sounding amused.

“Guilty as charged,” he grinned.

“How is it we’ve never seen any of these creatures you claim exist?” Edward asked. “I know you’re telling the truth, I can see some of your memories, but it seems unlikely that we haven’t come across them before.”

While Xander wanted nothing more than to tell Edward to shut up, because really the guy could be very annoying when he tried, Xander knew it was better to approach the conversation with some delicacy. Giles had instilled at least a small amount of diplomacy into him. Though, he would never let Giles know that.

“Look, vampires don’t mix well with the happy humans,” he said, unable to hide his smirk. “And while you guys aren’t technically human, you act more human than most real ones do. Most demons avoid the types of humans you portray.”

“And what kind of human is that?” Rosalie asked stiffly, obviously on the verge of being offended.

“Pristine and perfect,” Xander told her. “You’d give them all indigestion.”

“How do you know about this at your age?” Carlisle asked. “I doubt it’s something they’d teach in school, even one placed on—what was it you called it? The mouth of hell?”

“After school study group,” Xander instantly said. He could see Edward frowning, but knew that he had kept his thoughts about Buffy clouded and vague enough to keep the vampire from knowing anything. It was probably why he was starting to look so damn constipated. Xander grinned when Edward shot him a dirty look. “Anyway, that’s all the information you get. I’m not at liberty to speak of anything else. If I do, crabby guys from England will come take away my demon hunter membership card.”

“Demon hunter!” Esme gasped, looking at him with obvious worry. “You don’t go out and hunt these things, do you? It’s one thing to study and accidentally come across one, but to hunt them? You’re just a boy!”

It was at that moment that Xander decided Esme was the one of the most awesome moms ever, even if she was a vampire. Though, it was still difficult to beat out Joyce Summers. Xander figured if Esme spent another year in his presence the two women would be able to come out even in that department. Until then, Joyce held the ultimate mother trophy. 

*

The day Xander was supposed to go with Bella to La Push also happened to be the day that he would hear about the court decision regarding his parents, which would later lay heavily on the final decision of what sort of discipline his father would receive for putting his only child in the hospital. Xander couldn’t even begin to understand California’s legal system, especially when it came to children, so he spent most of his time ignoring the entire thing. 

That was a bad move on his part, because Xander couldn’t help but obsess over it deep down in his subconscious. 

For the most part, Xander hadn’t let his occasional flashbacks bother him. He had always figured it was his mind’s way of dealing with things. He hadn’t remembered every moment of abuse that he had suffered from since childhood, so it made sense to him that small things in day to day life would remind him of the past, because those memories had to go somewhere. He had spent the last couple of years worrying too much about making it home alive than he had the dangers hidden in his own home, something he now regretted.

For the majority of the day Xander moved around the school much like a zombie, refusing to think or be anxious. If he could get through the day then he’d be able to go home and hear the good news that Alice claimed would be waiting for him. 

He had been heading for the cafeteria for lunch when it happened. He had glanced over his shoulder, spotting who he thought was Jasper, before he turned the corner without really looking at where he was going. His body impacted with something hard and solid, which he distantly recognized as Emmett’s chest, before he rebounded off of the larger figure and his back impacted with the wall. Pain lanced across his shoulder blades and shot down his arm to his wrist, which still remained in the cast.

He blinked, one moment seeing a sea of students and faces, and the next seeing nothing but memories that matched the pain in his body and mind.

“It’s always the same with you, Alexander,” the voice hissed. The smell of alcohol hit his face long before his back impacted with the wall. “You walk around this house like you own it! After all the fucking money we spend on you, how do you repay us? By spending all of your time with those sluts from school.”

A stinging sensation hit Xander’s cheek and his head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. He tasted blood in his mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—“

“Didn’t mean to what?” his father growled, grabbing Xander’s collar and lifting him upward, only to slam him back against the wall again. 

There was pain and confusion. Xander couldn’t even remember what he had done wrong; all he knew was that for once his father wasn’t stopping after the first couple of hits. He became dizzy and could feel the slow slide of blood trickle from his forehead. He tried to fight back, he tried to protest, but all that escaped him was a scream as the bones in his wrist snapped.

And then hands clamped down hard on his throat. His breathing became labored and he kicked out weakly, nails clawing at the hands, but nothing helped. Soon, he couldn’t breathe at all.

“Xander,” a soft voice said as cold fingers lightly touched his cheek.

“Shit, is he okay?” another voice demanded, loud and booming. 

“He’s feeling calmer,” the first voice replied. Xander’s eyes fluttered before opening fully. He looked up to see Jasper crouched in front of him, face forming a stiff expression as though he were in pain as fingers slowly withdrew from Xander's face. “Xander, how are you?”

“Fine,” he croaked, allowing Emmett to reach out and help him to his feet. “What happened?”

“Man, you freaked,” Emmett informed him. Jasper shot the larger vampire a look, which Emmett shrugged off. “Well, he did.”

“Maybe we should take you to the nurse’s office,” Jasper said. 

“Oh no, that’s okay,” he said quickly. The last thing he needed was authorities getting involved. He had no desire to visit a psychiatrist. “I just need food. Lots and lots of food.”

“If you’re certain…” Jasper replied, a flash of worry briefly appearing on his face.

“What is taking you two so long?” Rosalie demanded, appearing at their side. She glanced at Xander, mouth twitching down into a slight frown, before she turned her attention fully onto Emmett. “I don’t like waiting.”

“Sorry, babe,” Emmett replied. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her gently in the direction of the cafeteria. She glanced back at them once, eyes narrowed in thought, but otherwise didn’t protest Emmett guiding her away.

Xander let out a long breath, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall. He flexed the fingers on his broken arm, taking in the vague hint of pain but thankful that was all there was to it. Soon and he’d no longer have a cast. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to see that Jasper was still with him. The vampire’s face was blank as usual; a mask that probably hid more emotions than a human was capable of dealing with. 

“How do you handle it?” he asked, keeping his voice low as students passed by them. Jasper tilted his head in question. “All the things you must feel…I probably don’t feel a quarter of what you do and I sometimes think I’m going insane. Hell, I think my episode a minute ago shows I am going insane.”

“It’s difficult,” Jasper admitted. “I often have problems separating my own emotions from others. Being around humans makes it harder. You feel so much in such a small amount of time.”

“You’d think that would make being a vegetarian vampire easier,” he commented, “if you can feel what your victim is going through.” Jasper looked up at him, but said nothing. “Bella said you have problems with it sometimes.”

“Feeling what you feel…” Jasper shook his head. “It makes it harder to keep myself from killing you.”

“Why? Then you’d feel my pain and fear.”

Jasper let out a sound that might have been a laugh, but Xander couldn’t be sure. “The fear of death is nothing like what I just felt coming from you. To kill you would be to relieve you of that. That’s why I have a hard time not feeding off humans, Xander. I can feel everything they feel and it’s only in their death that I get any peace. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to relieve a person of the life that makes them feel the way they do. Most especially you.”

“I’m fine,” he said, looking away.

“Someday you will be,” Jasper offered.

*

He climbed into Bella’s massive truck, pulling the door shut with a clang. For a moment, he nearly started bouncing, but somehow he managed to reign it all in. He could feel her eyes on him and wasn’t sure what he should say. He knew Bella’s father knew the basics of what had happened to him, but he had tried to keep as few details from Bella as possible. Xander didn’t want her pity and he hated the fact that the Cullens knew about his father as it was.

“You seem happy,” she commented with a wry smile as she started the truck. 

“Oh, yeah,” he replied, clearing his throat. “I, uh, found out that I get to stay with my Uncle Rory until I’m eighteen. I’ll miss my friends and Sunnydale, of course, but staying here is good. I’m just excited about it. New place and all. I’d hate to have to move again. It’s so tedious. All that boxing and, uh, boxing. Not to mention adjusting to a new school. I just now got used to this one. Who wants to be the new kids twice in one year? Not that I’d be new in Sunnydale, since I’ve lived there my whole life, but you know what I mean, right?”

“Uh, sure?” she offered, looking confused. “That’s…some really nice babble you have there, Xander.”

“It’s a gift,” he said, inwardly cheering at his ability to deflect. He hadn’t really had to use that method with his Uncle Rory just yet, so it was nice to know he wasn’t getting rusty. “So, tell me about this Jacob boy that has Immaculate Edward’s panties bunched up in the wrong places.”

“Xander!” Bella exclaimed. “Don’t say stuff like that about Edward.”

“Oh, come on, Bella,” he said, laughing, “if you can’t make fun of your own boyfriend, then what good is it having him around?”

“There are plenty of good reasons to have him around,” Bella replied with a distinctly dreamy expression. Xander had a feeling he was going to be sick if she continued down this road. After a few minutes of silence, Bella blinked and blushed. “Um, anyway, the whole reservation kind of has this territory issue with the Cullens. Edward and Jacob just don’t get along. It doesn’t help that Jacob kind of has a thing for me.”

Xander fought back the urge to roll his eyes. It was clear to him that Bella had no problem with them fighting over her, she probably enjoyed it. Maybe, now that he thought about it, Bella was just as bad as Edward when it came to creating a potentially abusive relationship. 

“But he’s my friend, so it’s only fair that I get to see him,” she insisted. “So, thanks for coming with me.”

“Hey, no problem,” he said, waving a hand. “It’s not like I had anything better to do, except homework. Trust me, even watching a guy completely disregard you being in a relationship and proceeding to flirt with you is more entertaining than writing a five page report on the rise and fall of…umm…well, I can’t exactly remember what historic figure I picked.”

She shot him an amused glance before returning her attention back to the road. He turned his gaze toward the passing trees, wondering if he’d ever get used to so much greenery. There was another long moment of silence, before Bella cleared her throat nervously. “I don’t want to read too much into things and I’ve probably got it all wrong, but…Edward kind of told me that you might not be comfortable around aggressive men, I guess.”

“He did, did he?” he asked, clenching his jaw. It was official; he was going to have a nice little chat with Edward Cullen about respecting people’s privacy.

“I’m sorry,” Bella whispered. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, Bella,” Xander sighed, “it’s okay. I’m fine around most people. I occasionally have problems, but it’s not really something I can predict. Alright?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I just wanted to give you heads up that, well, Jacob and some of the other guys in La Push are pretty…large. Seriously, Jacob kind of shot up into this big guy overnight. And they occasionally have anger issues. Not so much Jacob, but…well, Edward said I should mention it.”

“Edward needs to pull his head out of other people’s business,” he informed her as they drove onto a dirt road. “Besides, Edward doesn’t have the best judgment when it comes to this Jacob person’s character, now does he?”

“Well, not really,” Bella admitted.

“Let’s just not talk about this anymore,” he said firmly. The last thing he needed was to be put in a bad mood right before meeting some friend of hers. 

They pulled up toward a comfortable looking house. There was a man sitting in what looked to be a wheelchair on the front porch. Xander opened the door and slid out of the truck and followed Bella toward the house, glancing around curiously. He didn’t know why he expected the place to look different just because it was on a reservation, but he found himself oddly disappointed in the fact that it looked a lot like Rory’s place, only without the broken screen door.

Willow would kill him if she knew about his assumptions. 

“Hello, Bella,” the man greeted with a tense smile. Xander got the immediate impression there was some bad blood there. He figured the problem probably started with Ed and ended with Ward. 

“Hi,” she replied, giving a small hand wave. “Uh, this is my neighbor Xander Harris. Xander, this is Jacob’s dad, Billy Black.”

“Nice to meet you,” Xander said with a bright grin, reaching out to shake his hand.

“You’re what’s his name’s nephew, right? The taxidermist?” Billy asked.

“Yeah, that’s Rory,” he replied, chuckling.

“It’s nice of him to take you in,” Billy commented. He gave Xander a smile that was much more genuine than the one provided to Bella. “Not that I have a place to say. Rory and I don’t talk much. He’s not a big baseball or fishing fan and out here there really isn’t much else to do.”

“Is Jacob here?” Bella cut in.

“Yeah, he’s in the garage working on the Rabbit,” Billy said. “It was nice meeting you, Xander.”

“Same to you,” he replied as Bella grabbed his arm and started pulling him around the house. 

“I don’t know why he has to look at me like I’ve committed some horrible crime,” Bella muttered as they approached the open garage. 

Inside Xander could hear the clank of tools hitting metal. He hovered behind Bella as they entered, suddenly nervous. Normally he had no problem with meeting new people, but he hated being thrust into social conflicts. The heated adversity between Jacob and the Cullens was evident enough without him having a front row seat. Hopefully, Jacob would discreetly refrain from labeling Xander as a Cullen-lover. 

“Bells!” a deep voice yelled seconds before a massive boy appeared around the hood of the Volkswagen Rabbit. Yeah, okay, suddenly Xander could understand why Bella had been worried, because this guy would send anyone afraid of men running in the opposite direction. Not only was he just tall and muscular, but he radiated some kind of energy that demanded attention. Though, that could have been the grin that literally lit up his face like some kind of beacon or the fact that he was shirtless. 

Why the hell was Bella with pasty, uptight Edward when she had a guy that burst with sunshine as an option?

“Hey, Jake,” Bella beamed, practically throwing herself into Jacob’s arms. 

“So, where’s your bodyguard?” Jacob teased, looking up and over Bella’s head at Xander.

That’s when it happened. Xander wasn’t entirely sure what happened exactly, but Jacob’s face practically froze when his eyes landed on Xander, who was still standing partially outside of the building. Jacob let go of Bella and took a step forward, his gaze unblinking, like there was some kind of string pulling him toward Xander. 

Xander wondered if this was how Principal Flutie felt right before the hyena pack devoured him. A sudden fear rushed through him, though he didn’t understand why he felt skittish. Gulping, Xander stumbled back and was forced to catch his balance on the edge of the doorway with his cast-covered hand. Jacob’s eyes darted to the white cast and the larger boy sucked in a sharp breath.

“Bella,” Jacob finally said, taking hold of her hand, “we need to talk.”

“What’s going on?” Bella demanded as Jacob pulled her out of the garage.

Xander flinched as Jacob passed, hanging his head to keep them from seeing his reaction. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Jacob led her around the corner. Her voice faded until he couldn’t make out the actual words. He could hear a murmur or two, but was otherwise left alone. A rush of air escaped him. What the hell had that been about? Did he have something crawling out of his nose? Was his face offensive?

He turned on his heel and took a few steps out into the lawn, shoving his hands into his pockets. He fought with fitting his cast into the pocket for a moment, before cursing and letting that hand dangle. He suddenly missed his friends in Sunnydale more than anything. Things were crazy on the Hellmouth, but at the same time? They were simple. Vampires were bad, unless you were Angel, and he didn’t have to worry about the humans because he had his girls and Giles. They were all that mattered. 

“You did what?” Bella’s voice cut through his thoughts and he winced at the high pitch her tone had taken. Curious, he stepped closer to the back of the garage, ears straining to hear. 

“I can’t exactly control it, Bella!” Jacob’s voice snapped, sounding more like a growl than anything. 

“But—how—he’s a guy!” Bella exclaimed.

“I noticed. It doesn’t make sense, but trust me, it happened.” There was a long moment where Xander couldn’t understand what they were saying, before Jacob spoke up again. “What happened to his arm?”

“I don’t…” Bella let out an annoyed sound. “I can’t tell you. I’m not even supposed to know. Xander will be pissed if he knew that Edward told me the details.”

There was another growl, followed by a bang that caused Xander to jump in shock. 

“Jacob!”

“I can’t believe he’s been near those leeches. I’ll find out what happened, Bella, whether you tell me or not.”

“Does it really matter?” Bella asked, her voice so low Xander could barely make it out. “Maybe he broke it on accident.”

“From your reaction, I doubt it. Bella, it matters because he’s my imprint. If someone hurt him…” Jacob trailed off. Xander took another step closer. What the hell was an imprint? “Whatever, just…keep him away from the Cullens.”

“They’re his friends!” Bella protested. “They go to school together.”

“They’re bloodsuckers and I don’t want him near them!” Jacob yelled. “And tell that damn leech of yours to stay out of his head!”

Okay, that was it. Xander could take people talking about him. He could even handle being called things he didn’t know the definition of, but he did not like people trying to control what he did on a day to day basis. He refused to allow himself the reminder that he had planned on yelling at Edward for getting in his head himself. The point was that he didn’t need to be protected.

He’d survived his father; he could handle a few vegetarian vampires. 

That in mind, Xander stormed around the small building until he spotted the two of them. Jacob was towering over Bella with an angry expression, his hands clenched into fists. Xander took barely a second to notice the huge dent in the garage wall before he grabbed Bella and pushed her behind him. He looked up at Jacob, a frown etched into his face. His heart beat frantically in his chest as he realized that if Jacob was angry enough then there was nothing Xander could do to defend himself.

That didn’t stop him from placing himself in harm’s way, though.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded, amazed at how steady his voice was. 

For a second, Jacob’s anger was palpable. Xander could feel something vibrate through the air, which more than triggered every Hellmouth instinct he had. And then Jacob seemed to actually see past his anger to the expression on Xander’s face, because the larger boy deflated like a popped balloon. Jacob took a step back, head lowered as though he were trying to look harmless.

Xander drew in a deep breath. “Okay, I’m not sure what I just stepped into, but I don’t like where your conversation was going. Forgive me, but I got the distinct impression that you were talking about me.”

“It’s…well, uh,” Jacob stammered. He winced. “So, this conversation is really not starting out well. I don’t think right now is a good time to go into it.”

“Well, maybe I think it is,” Xander replied.

“I can’t just tell you. There are things about me and the Cullens that you don’t know,” Jacob said. “I have to talk to a couple of people first and then maybe…we can get together? Just you and I? I’ll explain everything, I promise.”

“You’re doing really well at making this sound serious,” he offered. He glanced back at Bella and sighed. He understood secrets, especially ones that weren’t his to tell. He’d learned enough about that with Buffy as a best friend. He had a feeling that one of the things Jacob didn’t think he knew was that the Cullens family were vampires. Xander wasn’t about to correct him of that fact, not until he knew more about the situation. “Yeah, alright, I could maybe be okay with that.”

“Can we hang out like normal people now?” Bella asked, peering over his shoulder at her friend. 

*

 

“You both smell like dog,” Rosalie complained, nose scrunching. 

“Aww, Rosie, that’s so sweet,” Xander replied, snagging some of Alice’s food off her plate. He’d gotten into the habit of eating the food the others occasionally bought for visual purposes. They weren’t going to eat it and it saved him from spending his lunch money. He shot the blonde a grin. “You sure do know how to show a guy you care.”

“I showered,” Bella said in confused, sniffing her hair.

“You smell wonderful,” Edward told her. “You’ll get rid of the last of his scent within a day or so.”

“Whereas I will be stinking up the joint again in a couple of days,” he announced. “Yes, that’s right; I’m hanging out with Jacob on Saturday. He’s coming over and I’m going to school him in Street Fighter.”

“Why?” Rosalie practically spit out. 

Xander didn’t reply. He wasn’t entirely sure what to tell them. It wasn’t like he and Jacob had gotten along when he had visited the reservation. There was something unsettling about having a guy like Jacob stare at him like…he wasn’t sure what the look in Jacob’s eyes had been. He wasn’t positive he wanted to know. Still, Jacob had promised him answers on Saturday and Xander wasn’t about to turn that opportunity down.

“Bella,” Edward suddenly said, his eyes flitting back and forth between her and Xander, “is there something about your visit to La Push that you didn’t inform me of?”

Bella cringed. “No?”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

“Oh, for God’s sakes!” Xander snapped, standing. “It’s about me, okay? Jacob didn’t abuse your little Bella. It’s my business, so just shut up, Edward.” He tried to calm himself, but all the breathing exercises in the world weren’t helping. “Since you’ll all probably find out anyway, apparently I’m Jacob’s imprint. I don’t know what the fuck that means, though, so I’d appreciate it if you keep your asinine comments to yourself until Jacob and I discuss this on Saturday. Do you think with all your years of supposed wisdom you people could manage that?”

“No need to get huffy, Xander,” Alice said, reaching out and patting his cast. 

“Says the girl who probably saw this coming,” he snarled, before taking a quick step backwards when he saw the look that crossed Jasper’s face. 

“Actually, I didn’t,” she admitted. “I can’t see any future that involves Jacob. I just knew that no matter what path you chose, it would take you to him in some way. I figured you might as well get it over with.”

He shifted from foot to foot and sighed. “Right, I guess I can accept that. Can we forget my little outburst, please?”

“I don’t think we should,” Emmett stated. At everyone’s look, he continued, “Hey, man, you seriously meant some of that shit. And you’re right, it really doesn’t involve us. Unless the mutt does something stupid and tries to hurt you, I say we stay out of it.”

Xander wanted nothing more than to collapse into his chair and thank Emmett for being the reasonable one, but he knew he had more to say. Or, rather, he had more to say to a specific individual. He didn’t have to think very hard for Edward to let out a sigh and stand, telling the others they would be back in a moment. 

He led Edward to the spot that he had revealed he knew Edward was a vampire. There was a moment where he just stood there, watching as Edward leaned against the wall like some kind of model for a store that catered to the pale and preppy. Xander scowled. “Look, I get that sometimes you can’t help but hear what other people are thinking. Maybe you can’t control it at all. I don’t know.”

Xander took a step forward, pushing down the edge of nausea that rose from being so close to someone that could effectively kill him. He crowded into Edward’s space, using his extra height to his advantage. While Edward could kill him in a blink of an eye, life with Buffy and years at his father’s hand had taught him the basics of intimidation. “What I have a problem with is the apparent lack of filter you have between your brain and mouth.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was a secret,” Edward replied, expression passive.

“You told Bella about my dad. How was that her business, Edward?” he demanded, not bothering to waste the energy of raising his voice. “You used my thoughts to psychoanalyze me and then you went around and told your little girlfriend. You probably told every detail to your family, as well. Admit it.”

Edward let out a breath and looked away. “Maybe, but you can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“You pretentious asshole!” Xander snapped, stepping away before he did something stupid like try and hit the vampire. Right then, he hated Edward more than he had ever hated Angel. “It’s my secret to tell, damn it. If I wanted Bella and your family to know that my dad has spent most my life hitting me and that every time I see someone get angry or I bump into something I have a fucking flashback…if I wanted someone to know, I’d tell them. You have no right to do it for me.”

Edward pushed away from the wall and reached out, placing a cold hand on Xander’s shoulder. “Forgive me. I was out of line.”

Xander shook his head. “I don’t know if I can. What if Bella told someone else? What if it gets around the school? There are already enough rumors about why I’m here and why I looked like I’d gotten mugged the first day of school. My life is difficult enough as it is without having to worry about if I can trust every person I speak with.”

“You’d never trust me, anyway,” Edward pointed out, “but I am sorry. Believe me, nothing you can say will make me feel worse than when Esme told me she was disappointed in me for mentioning it to the others.”

“I just don’t understand why you felt the need to say anything at all. I’m not your problem,” Xander said. 

“What? Xander, of course you’re not my problem,” Edward insisted, looking truly confused for the first time since Xander had met him. “You’ve met my family and you’ve gotten to know Bella. There are no secrets with us. It’s sometimes difficult to remember that our openness doesn’t apply to other people.” He shrugged. “And we were worried about you. Believe it or not, but we do actually like you. Even Rosalie.”

“Are you kidding? I’m Rosalie’s favorite,” he replied, with a slight smile. 

“Listen,” Edward said, once against turning serious, “about Black. If you really are his imprint then there isn’t much I can do to keep him from trying to talk to you, but the people he spends time with aren’t safe. Maybe you should let one of us be there when he comes over Saturday.”

“Do I look like your submissive Bella Swan?” Xander asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not going to let you guys run my life, no matter how politely you ask.”

“Being friends with him is a very bad idea, Xander.”

“So is being friends with you,” he said. “Come up with a better argument and I just might agree to it, but until then I’m not letting you control me. Well, let me correct that. I’ll never let you control me. Alice might have a chance, though, with a little convincing.”

Edward visibly clenched his jaw and stared at him, before looking away. “Fine, but I warned you.”

“And I’ve warned you,” Xander replied. “No more telling stories, Edward. I don’t want to have to get nasty with you.”

*

“Alright, G-Man, what do you have for me?” Xander asked, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he fought to get his school books onto his desk. 

“I’m afraid there isn’t much beyond magical means to block someone from reading your thoughts,” Giles replied. “Considering the results of the last spell you were involved with…”

“Can we avoid the topic of love spells gone wrong?” he begged, sitting down and flipping open his Chemistry book. “What about the whole imprint thing?”

“Yes, well, I’ve managed to find a lot of information on that,” Giles said, “but the problem is in narrowing it down. Are you certain this Jacob boy isn’t demonic in nature?”

“Pretty sure, yeah.”

“Well, that takes out a few of the options. Most of the other information on imprints involve inanimate objects, but Angel did mention something that has been circling around vampire folklore in America for a while,” Giles told him. “I can’t be certain of its accuracy, of course, because I have yet to find anything in any of my texts, but…”

“Angel has a bad habit about being right,” Xander admitted with a sigh. “Lay it on me.”

“Apparently there is a tribe of shape-shifters that imprint on their mates,” Giles said. “I’m not aware of the details and neither is Angel, except in the fact that a shape-shifter will fight to its death to protect its imprint. It seems this tribe is known for being enemies of vampires. Angel claims that the stories he’s heard marks them as rather deadly.”

“Okay,” Xander said slowly, “but Jacob’s just a teenager, like me.”

“And yet, you did say Edward has an interesting level of dislike for the boy,” Giles pointed out. “I can’t say for certain that this is what Jacob meant when he called you his imprint. In fact, beyond being that of a mate, the legend Angel spoke of doesn’t even explain what an imprint is. Just be careful, Xander.”

“Careful is my middle name,” Xander said cheerfully. “Well, it should be. It would be better than my actual middle name. Besides, all we’re doing is playing some video games and talking. I’ll be a-okay.”

“Very well. Oh, Buffy wanted me to ask you when your Spring Break will be,” Giles said. “She’s driving me up the wall about taking her and Willow to visit you.”

*

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Rory asked, pausing in the doorway.

“What, I can’t have friends over?” Xander countered, joking weakly. He fought down a wince when Rory sighed. “Sorry.”

“I’m just trying to look out for you. I don’t know this Black kid and you haven’t had many adults make a point to look after you,” Rory said, looking away as though that alone would lower the level of uncertainty that had surrounded them. Xander knew Rory wasn’t entirely up to the role of parent. Before his aunt had died, the two of them had never planned on having kids. Most Harris’ weren’t the parental type.

“The Chief of Police lives next door,” Xander told him, “and if we decide to go somewhere I’ll leave a note and be home by one in the morning.”

Rory narrowed his eyes. “Make that eleven thirty, okay?”

“Fine, fine.” Xander managed to keep the confused look off his face. He’d never had a curfew before. 

“I know it’s not a school night, but with the forest and things…there could be bears,” Rory mumbled, before quickly making his escape out the front door.

Xander chuckled as the headlights to Rory’s car swept across the living room as he left. He stood in the middle of the room for a while, feeling somewhat lost. The flash of headlights hitting the window jerked him out of his stupor and he cautiously made his way to the door, pulling it open the moment he heard the loud knock. He was struck with a ball of nervous energy building in his stomach as he looked up at Jacob's face.

Jacob looked the same, though why Xander had thought he'd look different he didn't know. The boy was still larger than life and almost had to duck in order to enter the house. The eager expression on Jacob's face as he glanced at Xander was somewhat disconcerting and left Xander blushing as he led Jacob back to the living room. 

“So, uh, we should probably get the awkward conversation over with,” Xander said, siting down. He was forced to shift closer to the side of the sofa when Jacob sat less than a foot away. “Would you like to start, or do you want me to just ask questions?”

“I had to talk to the tribal leaders before explaining this to you. Them and Sam. He's, uh...” Jacob cleared his throat. “My tribe has this legend that claims we are descended from wolves. What most people don't know is that it's true.”

“So, you're a werewolf?” Xander asked. It said something about his life in Sunnydale when he wasn't freaked out. That and he was friends with Oz, so a guy becoming a wolf wasn't exactly the strangest thing in the world.

“Shape-shifter, but yeah,” Jacob replied, before frowning. “You don't seem surprised at all. Either you don't believe me or you already knew, because even Bella was a little shocked when she found out.”

“Do you want me to run screaming?” Xander asked, smiling slightly. “Look, I've had a lot of things thrown at me in the past two years, most of which has occurred in these last few weeks. I don't have it in me to be shocked. And, yeah, I kind of had an idea that you were going to say something like that. One of my friends from Sunnydale is really big with the research and he recognized the imprint thing when I told him about it. He wasn't really clear on what it meant, though.”

“It's how we find our soul mates,” Jacob explained. 

“I get the feeling it's more than that, but why don't you tell me about this wolf thing first. Have you always been a wolf?”

“No,” Jacob replied with a shake of his head. The younger boy leaned back against the sofa and sighed. “It's in our genes, but we only start to shift if there is a threat to the tribe. The current pack started to shift after the Cullens moved back into the area. Sam—he's my Alpha—was the first to change.”

Xander looked down at his hands and focused on absorbing all of this information. Buffy had trained him to expect the strangest things and the fact that Jacob was a shape-shifter who was a rival with vampires didn't seem odd at all. He took a moment to look at Jacob from the corner of his eye and was happy that Jacob wasn't staring at him for once. 

“You know the Cullens are vampires, don't you?” Xander said.

Jacob glowered. “Yes. You shouldn't be near them. They're dangerous.”

Xander snorted. “Trust me, I've dealt with worse.”

“What? Like whoever did that to your arm?” Jacob demanded.

“What makes you think anyone did this to my arm?” Xander countered with an eye-roll, ignoring the sick feeling building once more in his stomach. “I'm clumsy.”

“I think that because of the way you and Bella reacted when I mentioned it,” Jacob snapped, scowling. 

“You barely know me, Jacob, so stop acting like you have any right to be upset--”

“You're my imprint!” Jacob interrupted. “You're mine! That makes everything involving you my right.”

Xander felt his body jerk like it had been hit. He couldn't honestly say whether he was afraid or excited about Jacob's declaration. He didn't like Jacob's obvious need to have a say in his life despite them barely knowing one another, but at the same time he couldn't help but enjoy being wanted so strongly. He'd spent most of his life hearing that he wouldn't be worth anything or deserving of anyone's attention.

“I think it's time for you to fully explain the imprint thing,” Xander finally said.

“Sure, sure,” Jacob agreed, clearly hiding his nervousness. 

“Are you hungry?” Xander said before Jacob could actually say anything. 

“Xander, I shift into a wolf,” Jacob said with a look that reminded Xander of Willow when she thought he was being extra dense. Xander had to admit he kind of liked the expression on Jacob. “I'm always hungry.”

“I was under the impression that was a side effect of being a teenage boy,” Xander said with a shrug, standing up. “Come on, I'll make us some sandwiches.”

*

Somehow Xander hadn't been able to get Jacob back on the correct conversations despite all of his sneaky methods. He had fed Jacob four sandwiches before telling the other boy that there was no way he was clearing out Rory's fridge just to feed a guy he barely knew. Jacob had then insisted on them playing video games.

“Are we going to talk about this imprint thing or not?” Xander finally snapped, throwing down his controller even though he had actually been winning. He'd feel upset about that later. 

Jacob winced.

“I've been trying to bring it up--”

“You have?” Jacob asked. “You weren't doing a very good job of it.”

Xander glared.

“Sorry,” Jacob said, though it was clear he wasn't in the least. “Okay, look, if you ban me from your company and tell me to never come near you again, I'll do it. I'll have to do it, but it will make me sick. No one has ever been banned from their imprint before, but the idea goes that it could kill us. But whatever you ask of me, I'll do.”

“Like a slave?” The idea make Xander sick. He remembered feeling helpless to his father on occasion, like a puppet waiting for his father to pull the correct strings. He'd never do that to someone else, not even if it was supernaturally induced.

“No, not really.” Jacob let out a huff of breath as he thought. “My entire life is now riding on you being happy. You can't order me to go get you a drink or something-unless you're dehydrated-but if you seriously need something or ask for something, I'll probably do it. The entire point of an imprint is to give my life a purpose. From the moment I imprinted, you became my everything.”

“Gee, thanks for the stress,” he said sarcastically.

“Xander, this is serious,” Jacob said, turning on his seat on the sofa to look directly at Xander. “I'm going to be whatever you need me to be now. Friend, brother, confidant, and even...I mean, usually it ends up, uhh...”

“What?”

“Lover,” Jacob blurted out, his dark skin flushing a deep red. 

“What if I'm not gay?” Xander stammered.

“Then, uh, we'll be friends or something,” Jacob said, a vague hint of sadness crossing his face.

“Are you gay?”

“I'm whatever you need me to be.”

“That is idiotic!” Xander snapped, pushing himself to his feet. “You're you. Whatever I want shouldn't matter. You don't even know me. Really, Jacob, this entire idea--”

“Is real,” Jacob interrupted, standing as well. “Do you really think that I'd want this? That any of my pack wants this? Imprinting is huge, it's this thing that can both be a curse and a blessing, but only if our imprint wants it. Neither one of us have a choice, Xander, but we can make the best of it.”

“If you think I'm going to just give in to you and let you talk me into some kinky relationship...” Xander trailed off and closed his eyes, realizing he was being stupid. He had grown up in Sunnydale, after all. He knew strange things like this was possible. The very fact that he could manage to stumble into this situation after leaving the Hellmouth wasn't as much of a surprise as it should have been. “Okay, I'm sorry. I just...this sounds a lot like a big destiny spiel to me and I've seen that sort of thing blow up in people’s faces. I don't know what you want me to say here, Jacob.”

“You don't have to decide anything, you know,” Jacob offered, taking a step closer. Xander looked up at his face, noting how sincere he was being. “We can just be friends.”

Xander drew in a calming breath. The room suddenly felt small as he felt all of Jacob's concentration on him. He wasn't used to this. He had been pushed into the role of sidekick with Buffy and Willow and to be completely honest, he had liked that. He didn't want to be the center of attention or the center of someone's world. 

Having someone put all of their focus on him usually led to pain. Physical pain from his father. The various moments of pain caused to his heart as girl after girl tried to, well, kill him. Being the center of attention was not a good thing in Xander's book.

His voice shook when he finally spoke and it took him a moment to realize it was from an underlying sense of fear. “How about we start our friendship with a walk?”

Jacob quickly took two steps back, as though he was sensing Xander's reaction, and nodded. “Yeah, that's fine. Where's your coat? It's probably cold outside.”

That question jolted Xander out of any building panic and he raised an eyebrow at Jacob. “Does me being your imprint mean you're going to turn into a mother hen?”

Jacob blushed yet again. “You don't know me. For all you know I'm like this all the time.”

“Somehow, I kind of doubt that. I can't picture you chasing all of your wolf buddy's out the door, demanding to know where their winter coats are and telling them they'll catch their death.” Xander snickered. “Actually, I lied. I just pictured that very scene and it was hilarious.”

“I think I just realized that you're going to be trouble.”

“If I had any say, that would be my middle name,” he offered, snatching his coat off the back of the sofa and heading for the door.

*

Xander reached over and pulled the food off of Rosalie's plate, ignoring her offended expression. It wasn't like she was going to eat it anyway. He glanced around the cafeteria, curious as to why Alice, Bella, and Edward were missing. He raised an eyebrow at Jasper in question, looking pointedly at the empty seat next to him.

Jasper shrugged and went back to staring at his plate.

“Did you have fun with the puppy this weekend?” Rosalie asked snidely. 

Xander broke into a wide smiled, startling the vampire. “You guys want to dig for information, don't you? You know the others will be too obvious about it so you're the ones they sent to interrogate me about Jacob. Crafty, my lady, very crafty.”

“You totally got her, man!” Emmett laughed, before grunting when Rosalie elbowed him in the side. 

“I could care less about you and your stupid little dog,” Rosalie snapped.

“Oh, you care,” Xander said, beaming. “You care so much it's driving you crazy not knowing what we did. I mean, did we just hang out and play some video games? Or did we do something else? Something your darling Edward wouldn't approve of?” Rosalie stared at him, mouth tense, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Jasper smirking. “I guess you'll never know.”

“You...” Rosalie growled.

“Wow, are you sure you're not a wolf, too? That was a pretty good growl.”

“I do not like you, Xander Harris,” she informed him.

“Probably a good thing, seeing how that might make Jacob jealous,” Xander said, just so he could see the look of distaste on her face. Baiting Rosalie was slowly becoming one of his favorite activities. “If you must know, we agreed to be friends and we're going to hang out on the weekends. So be prepared for the smell come Mondays.”

Rosalie didn't look happy and, as a result, Emmett gave him a look of disapproval. Jasper, though, simply reached over and patted his hand in a way that was both awkward and a comfort. Xander wasn't sure how much he liked Jasper warming up to him. On one hand, Jasper seemed like a pretty good guy once you got to know him. On the other, Jasper was probably the scariest out of all the vampires. He reminded Xander of Angel, actually.

Jasper glanced over at him and frowned.

“Nothing's wrong,” Xander blurted out.

It looked like Jasper was contemplating saying something, but Alice suddenly appeared at the table, slipping into the seat between Jasper and him. The small vampire leaned forward, eyes flashing excitedly. “Well?”

“Well, what? I already told them everything went fine. Don't pretend you weren't listening just outside the door.”

“Xander,” Alice said in what could have been a whiny voice, but he couldn't be sure. 

“You're worse than Willow,” Xander complained. “Look, everything is going just fine with Jacob. We talked and he explained the imprint thing.”

“But do you like him?” Bella asked, sitting down. Edward sat next to her, looking like he had swallowed a sour lemon. His pinched expression immediately turned into a glare as he shot Xander a look for that thought.

“He's a good guy.”

“Xander, that's not what she asked,” Edward pointed out, still glaring. 

“I don't...I don't know,” Xander admitted. “He's nice and, okay, kind of attractive for a guy. I'm not gay. Or, well, I might be on occasion, but I've never acted on it! Stop trying to turn this into something it's not! Stop staring at me.”

“Leave the guy alone,” Emmett said, barely turning his attention away from where his hand was stroking Rosalie's hair. 

“See? Emmett completely agrees with me,” Xander said. “I'm not gay for Jacob Black.”

“I don't think he's, uh, gay for you either,” Bella offered. She didn't seem to notice the look of disbelief on everyone's faces, excluding Edward. “He likes me. I'm sorry Edward, but we both know it's true.”

“Hmm, you two do look a bit alike,” Rosalie suddenly said, eyes narrowing and lips curling upward. “Maybe the puppy is downgrading.”

“Carlisle said that the bond between a wolf and his imprint always turns into a mated relationship, regardless of how it begins,” Jasper commented.

“I think you guys need a new hobby if you're constantly worried about my sex life,” Xander told them. “Not that I have a sex life. I don't even want to think about doing that with Jacob, so can we please change the subject?”

“He is rather large--” Alice began.

“So, Edward!” Xander interrupted loudly, ignoring the glances the rest of the cafeteria sent them. Edward gave him an expression that was probably the closest he ever came to startled. “Done any good hunting lately?”

*

Xander couldn't remove his gaze from the pale skin of his wrist. It looked so delicate. No wonder his father had managed to break it so easily. He snorted to himself and rubbed at the skin, cherishing the ability to finally scratch where the cast had once blocked his access.

“You're going to make it bleed,” Jacob reprimanded, reaching out to grab Xander's hand. He jerked in shock and, for a split second, fear. Jacob paused, hand lightly holding Xander's, as his nostrils flared. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” Xander quickly said.

“This isn't the first time you've been scared of me, Xander,” Jacob said as he gently began to massage Xander's wrist. Xander swallowed and forced himself to keep meeting Jacob's eyes. “You know you can talk to me, right? Anything you tell me to keep a secret, I will. Even if the imprint didn't make me. I'm not like those leeches you keep hanging around.”

“Those leeches are my friends, oddly enough.” He smiled and shook his head. “I know it's crazy, but they aren't the most dangerous thing I've come across, not by far.”

“You mean like whatever has made you so jumpy?”

“You're not going to let this go, are you?” Xander questioned. He sighed and finally let himself look away. It was only their second weekend together, but Xander knew that Jacob would find out sooner or later. If not from him then from Bella or, worse, Edward when the vampire thought he was being helpful. “Promise me you wont get angry.”

“How angry do you expect me to get?” Jacob responded, pausing his massage. 

“If I tell you everything? Considering how protective you are, I'm betting on pretty damn angry.”

“Maybe we should go for a walk,” Jacob stated, standing. “Where's your coat?”

“We're alone in the house, why would--”

“Because if I get too angry, I could shift without actually meaning to.” Jacob informed him. 

Xander really didn't want to think about Rory's reaction to the damage a giant wolf could cause. So he let Jacob bundle him up like he was a three year old heading out into a blizzard and was rather pleased with himself when he didn't roll his eyes more than four times. The woods behind Rory's house were kind of creepy at night, but during the day Xander found them to be serene. 

They walked a good ways before Jacob led him over to a fallen tree trunk. They sat in silence for a moment, before Jacob cleared his throat impatiently.

“Okay, fine, I'll tell you.” Xander took in a deep breath, trying to decide just how much he was going to tell Jacob. He glanced over at the shape-shifter, taking in his dark and worried eyes. “The reason I moved in with my uncle is because my father tried to...well, not really kill me, I wouldn’t say that, but it was a close call. That's how my wrist got broken and can I just say that it's kind of nice to be the one to tell someone instead of having Edward Cullen blab it to his entire family?”

“He did what?” Jacob demanded, growling slightly. “That son of a bitch. He thinks that just because his family is pristine that it gives him the right to judge everyone else. If he can't even respect your privacy with something so personal, then you really should not--”

“Look, if it was just Edward then I would avoid him like the plague. I like Alice and Jasper and, hell, even Rosalie.” He cleared his throat. “So, uh, you're not as angry as I expected you'd be.”

“I'm angry,” Jacob said in a low, dangerous voice. “I'm very angry, but I'm aware that I can't do anything to your father. Please tell me he's going to jail.”

“Uh, I think so,” Xander shrugged. “Rory hasn't told me any of the details. I don't think he wants to stress me out anymore than I already am. And, seriously, about the Edward thing? Don't worry about it, he's not remotely scary. Trust me, I'm not even talking about my father when I say I've dealt with worse.”

Jacob stared at him for a moment, jaw clenched. “Tell me.”

“Oh, come on Jacob, do I have to?” he whined. Jacob's expression relaxed minutely, but he still nodded. Xander sighed. “Fine. I come from Sunnydale, California, otherwise known as the Hellmouth. That's exactly what it sounds like, the Mouth of Hell. Giles calls it a convergence of mystical energy. There we are overpopulated with vampires, demons, witches, and the occasional Incan mummy. Are you with me so far?”

Jacob's eyes were wide. “Sure, sure.”

“See, one of my friends is kind of a warrior of sorts. She fights these things. When I found out, I wasn't about to let her do it alone and one of my best friends had been captured by a vampire,” he said. His heart ached for a moment as he thought of Jesse, before he shoved the thought away like he had done so often in the past. “So, for the past two years, I've been fighting and surviving around demons. Creatures that make Edward Cullen look like the Easter Bunny.”

“No,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “I don't believe you'd put yourself in that kind of danger. What if something happened to you? What if something followed you here? And you don't know what the Cullens are like, they are seriously--”

“Spring break is coming up,” Xander interrupted, “and my friends are coming to visit me. If they approve would you be willing to come with us to Port Angeles when we take care of the tiny demon problem they're showing signs of?”

“Now that I know you're putting yourself in harm's way again? I'd like to see you try and stop me.”

Actually, Xander would like to see Buffy try and stop him. Xander had yet to see Jacob in wolf form, but he had a feeling watching a Slayer and shape-shifter battle would be just this side of awesome. He grinned slightly at the thought.

“Give me your wrist, I wasn't done massaging it,” Jacob ordered.

“You just want an excuse to touch me,” Xander complained, holding out his arm.

Jacob flushed a deep red and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Edward is going to lose what little respect he has for you if he sees this memory,” Xander commented, watching Jacob trace the inside of his wrist, like he was following the flow of his blood to make sure it was still pumping. Xander swallowed and managed to keep his heart rate normal. 

“He shouldn't be reading your mind,” Jacob said, “and it's not like he had any respect for me before now, anyway.”

*

“You want me to show off in front of your little werewolf boyfriend?” Buffy asked, her voice sounding tiny, indicating they had him on speaker. 

“That isn't what I said and he's not a werewolf, not really,” Xander insisted. “He's under this really bad impression that I'm a weak little human that needs to be protected.”

“But, Xander, you are a weak human,” Willow said.

“Thanks, Will, my masculinity almost soared with that one.”

“I'm certain this Jacob fellow is aware of your...good traits,” Giles piped up, sounding flustered. Xander had a feeling the man understood his pain at that very moment, especially since he had left Giles alone with two teenage girls for the past couple months. “I really don't think it is necessary for him to come along. Contrary to what you all seem to believe, Buffy's status as a Slayer is meant to be a secret.”

“I've kept it a secret!” Xander exclaimed. “Do you know how hard it is to keep that a secret around a mind reader and precognitive? It's really damn hard. And I didn't say the word Slayer once in my conversation with Jacob. I told him enough to explain why I got involved and that's it. Give me a little credit here, guys.”

“Okay, fine, he can tag along as long as he promises not to jump in to save you,” Buffy said. Xander could tell it was her way of apologizing for their negative reaction. 

“I, uh, don't know if he can promise that,” Xander admitted. “It's kind of the whole imprint thing. It's instinct or something like that. Besides, he's really strong and admittedly tougher than I am, so he'll probably be a bigger help than I would.”

“You're always a good help, Xander,” Buffy said in a low voice, before perking right back up, “Well, fine, we'll take things as they go. I have to go patrol now, so I'll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, of course, I'll let you know what Rory says about you guys staying over here or if you'll need a motel,” Xander offered.

*

Rory was mad. Xander wasn't entirely sure what had angered his uncle, as he had clearly came home from work like that, but he could feel the rage radiating from the man as they sat across from one another at the table. He slowly drew in a breath, trying to squash the ridiculous amount of fear he felt building in his stomach as he watched Rory shovel food into his mouth with angry jerks. 

Xander swallowed a piece of food that he really didn't taste and jerked back in shock when Rory slammed his glass down on the table. Before he could stop himself, Xander opened his mouth, “Umm, is everything okay?”

“No, it's not fucking okay,” Rory snapped, standing. His uncle grabbed his plate, along with Xander's, and placed them in the sink with a steady hand that was even scarier than him slamming things. Rory leaned against the counter, back turned to Xander, and all Xander could think was how fast he could get out the door before Rory turned around. “Those fucking sons of a...”

Xander winced and stood, chair skidding across the floor as Rory spun around, eyes flashing in anger. 

“I'm sorry,” Xander stammered out, not even sure what he was apologizing for.

Rory didn't seem to notice. “The piss-ant judge let your father out on bail and they postponed his trial.”

“He's out?” Xander asked, voice trembling. He took a step back, the room feeling small. The shadows looked like masculine shapes for one paranoid second, like his father would jump out at any minute. “What does that mean?”

“You're still staying here, but...he called this afternoon for you,” Rory said, jaw visibly clenched. 

“No,” Xander shook his head, “he can't...I can't...”

“Xander--” Rory began, eyes widening as though he was finally seeing the effect the conversation was having on his nephew.

“I can't!” Xander yelled, spinning on his heel. He grabbed his coat and charged out the front door. He could hear Rory yell his name, but all that did was make him break out into a run.

He ran and ran, until he found himself in the woods just outside Forks. He breath was coming in short gasps and a small part of his brain thanked the fact that it wasn't so cold that breathing hurt. He kept running, knowing he wasn't really running from anything physical. 

He ran from his father, thoughts of his father, and the memories of his father. 

Soon, though, he had to stop. He collapsed onto his knees on the damp ground, fingers digging into the moist dirt as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up, but all he could see were trees and greenery. He was lost, but he didn't really care. The sun had already began to set and he felt the cold finally coming in, creeping its way underneath his jacket.

“Damn it,” he whispered. He pushed himself over to one of the trees and sat, leaning back against the rough bark. He wrapped his arms around his knees and closed his eyes, willing the world away for just a moment.

The sound of movement broke him from his self-induced silence. He opened his eyes, every Sunnydale instinct telling him to either run or remain still, whichever ensured he would most likely survive. The crunch of something stepping on a twig caused his body to jerk and he let out a breath. 

It was probably a squirrel. Or a chipmunk. Some cute little rodent type thing. 

Slowly, Xander raised himself up onto his knees and, holding onto the tree like a lifeline, he peered around it. Immediately his breath caught and mouth dropped open. Standing between two trees, barely eight feet away, was a massive wolf with russet fur. It was sniffing the air carefully as it took one more step forward. Then, the large head swiveled in Xander's direction and their eyes met.

Xander immediately relaxed and he crawled around the tree toward the wolf. Maybe it was watching Oz turn into his own version of a demonic wolf and having learned to see Oz in that form, but he knew just by looking who that wolf was. It was no demon, no werewolf, and not really a wolf exactly.

“Jacob,” Xander breathed, reaching out a hand toward the wolf, feeling a connection to him that he hadn't felt before. 

The wolf came closer and pressed his muzzle against the palm of Xander's hand. The touch sent a jolt down Xander's arm and before he could stop himself he moved closer. The wolf stilled and allowed the movement, which was all the acceptance Xander needed to slipped his fingers through the wolf's thick, beautiful coat. His arms came around the wolf's giant chest until he was embracing Jacob in a hug. 

The wolf relaxed and bent his head, sniffing at Xander's hair and neck. Instinctively, Xander bared his throat, fingers curling in Jacob's fur. He felt a tremor run through the wolf before the large body carefully lowered itself, giving Xander the room to lean against him.

“What are you doing out here?” Xander asked, before shaking his head. “Stupid question, I know. You're probably wondering the same thing.”

Jacob huffed and brushed the side of his head against Xander's shoulder. 

“My dad's out on bail,” Xander said, finding words came easily when Jacob was in wolf form. “He called my uncle today.”

He felt Jacob tense up, the hairs along Jacob's side and spine raising in what was clearly agitation. Xander ran his hand along Jacob's side, trying to calm him, though he couldn't reach very far due to Jacob's sheer size. He felt a power radiate from Jacob in that anger, a power that touched something inside of Xander, bringing forth a primal feeling that he hadn't felt since...since the hyena. 

Xander turned his head and pressed it against Jacob's shoulder, feeling the fur tickle his cheek. “I don't...I don't know what he said, but Rory was pissed. I just couldn't handle it. I can't handle it. I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know what my father wants. He's always hated me, so why is he even bothering to try and contact me?”

Jacob growled low in his throat, the sound sending a vibration through his body and into Xander's. 

“Yeah,” Xander breathed out, ignoring the sudden urge to test the dominance that Jacob showed with that growl. It was a weird desire, one that he pushed away with as much force as possible. “My thoughts exactly.”

Jacob slowly relaxed and they fell into silence. Just a boy and his wolf. Xander smiled to himself at the thought.

Finally he pulled back far enough to look Jacob in the eye. “You're beautiful like this. I didn't think you would be. Werewolves aren't the most attractive things in the world and it didn't really click in my head that you were something else, something more.”

The cold tip of Jacob's nose trailed along his jawline in a strange caress and Xander smiled. He was so caught up in enjoying Jacob's fur and their connection that he almost didn't notice Jacob look away as two other wolves came near. One was so dark, its fur blended in with the growing blackness. A couple trees over was the other, whose fur was a deep silver that picked up the last remaining light.

Xander sat back as Jacob rose, turning to look at the other wolves. They stood still, staring at one another, until it became clear that they were somehow talking. 

“Umm, guys?” Xander piped up, causing all three wolves to turn to look at him. The silver wolf growled, only to have Jacob bare his teeth in warning. “Yeah, okay, calm down. I'm just thinking it's getting a little cold.”

Suddenly Jacob turned back to look at him, his eyes almost comically wide. Seconds later, the wolf was shifting back into human Jacob. Xander blushed at his apparent nudity and looked away.

“We need to get you inside before you freeze,” Jacob said, reaching out and almost too easily picking Xander up in his arms.

“Jacob!” Xander exclaimed. “I can walk and I don't know if you know this, but you're really naked.”

“Fine,” Jacob huffed, setting Xander down. He reached down to tie something off his leg, which turned out to be a pair of cut-offs, which he quickly put on. 

*

“Could I, uh, use your phone?” Xander timidly asked as he stepped into Sam Uley's house. 

“It's in the kitchen,” Sam said, gesturing, before he turned to Jacob, completely ignoring Xander. “We need to talk.”

Xander watched them step back out onto the porch before walking into the kitchen. There was a woman standing at the sink, washing dishes, as he entered. He cleared his throat, causing her to spin around in shock. He immediately spotted the scar running down one side of her face, before he promptly ignored it. “Hi. Sam said I could use your phone?”

“Oh, sure thing, it's right over there,” she said with a smile.

Xander took in a deep breath before he dialed his home number. The phone rang twice before it was picked up, “Xander?”

“Uh, yeah, hi,” he said, ducking his head in embarrassment. “I just called to say I'm sorry for running off--”

“Don't ever do that again, I don't care how upset you were!” Rory barked, before breathing heavily against the phone. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. I'm at La Push with Jacob,” he replied.

“Okay, just give me a call if you need a ride home, okay?” Rory paused. “I'm not going to let him touch you, Xander.”

The dial tone hit Xander's ear before he could reply, indicating that Rory was probably at home seething over the current situation. Letting out a slow breath, Xander placed the phone back on the hook and turned to see the woman glancing at him as she dried a Tupperware bowl. He stepped forward. “I'm Xander. We haven't really been properly introduced.”

“So you're Jake's imprint?” she asked with a slow smile. “It's nice to meet you. I'm Emily.”

“You know about the imprint thing?”

“Of course, Jake told us. He actually asked me to speak with you, since I know the position you're in,” she said. At his blank expression she explained, “I'm Sam's imprint.”

“Oh! So, you're not a wolf, too?” Xander asked.

“No, Leah is the only female wolf,” Emily said. She set down her towel. “Did you want to talk?”

“I do have a question,” Xander said. “Do you, uh, feel different since Sam imprinted on you?”

“How do you mean?” she asked. “Would you like something to drink?”

Xander shook his head. “I'm fine. I just...when I saw Jacob in his wolf form I felt like there was something inside of me, trying to change my behavior and triggering instincts that I wouldn't do normally. I don't...is that normal? It's like, in the woods when it was just him and I, it was like I could feel the imprint.”

Emily's face was perfectly composed as she asked, “What do you mean by feeling the imprint?”

“It was like this electrical energy connecting the two of us,” he explained. “When we touched I could feel it flare to life, but even now that we're not in the same room I can feel it. The sensation just came to life when I saw him as a wolf. Everything...it's like everything around me is reliant on that connection now. Is that weird? I'm completely screwing up this imprint thing, aren't I?”

“Oh, no honey,” Emily quickly said, shaking her head. “That's...well, every imprint is different, I'm sure.”

“Meaning, you don't feel that.”

“I feel such a strong love for Sam that sometimes it's like I can feel the imprint as well, but as much as I wish I could...I can't,” she admitted.

“I--” Xander began, before cutting himself off as Jacob and Sam entered the room. His eyes immediately locked onto Jacob and he felt himself relax at the sight of him. Jacob walked over and lightly touched Xander's shoulder with his fingertips. Both boys jerked when the connection they had felt in the woods seemed to cause an electric shock. Xander's shoulder felt like it had just been in contact with a burning hot wire. He blushed, but didn't move away from Jacob.

“Would you like to hang out here for a while before I take you home? Most of the pack is here,” Jacob said, shuffling his large frame. “They, uh, kind of want to meet you.”

“This is going to be like meeting the in-laws, isn't it?” he asked, ignoring the amused expression that he could see Sam giving him at that statement over Jacob's shoulder. He was glad the older man was showing something more than indifference to him now, though. He understood the pack mentality more than most humans would and knew that Sam's approval meant more to Jacob than even Jacob realized simply because Sam was his Alpha. He drew in a deep breath and smiled. “Sure, let's do this thing.”

Xander let Jacob take his hand, ignoring the sudden voice in his head that was questioning exactly what turn their relationship had just taken, and followed the taller boy out into the living room. He wasn't shocked to see all the large, dark skinned people draped across the furniture, but the way they all swiveled their heads to look at him at the same time was somewhat scary. Xander gave a nervous little hand wave and tried to not ogle the hot girl in cut-off shorts.

It was clear Jacob had seen his short gaze in her direction, though, because he started ushering Xander over to the love seat that was farthest from her. Xander allowed it and sat down next to yet another largely built boy, whose open expression made it clear that he was a lot younger than the rest. 

He didn't really join in on the conversation. The others talked around him, occasionally asking him a question, but for the most part Xander felt like an outsider. He wasn't one of them. He wasn't pack. The feeling that thought produced was strange, one he had never actually felt before. He felt less alone hanging out with the Cullens than he did at that moment.

“You okay?” Jacob asked, leaning close and whispering in his ear. He nodded, not able to find his voice as those around them started laughing over some inside joke that he didn't understand. Jacob cocked his head and frowned. “Do you want to go home?”

Xander nodded and, with a quick goodbye to the others, followed Jacob out to his car. They drove in silence for a while and Xander could tell that the lack of talking was bothering Jacob. The other boy had gotten used to Xander's habit of filling the silence.

“We're going to patrol your house,” Jacob finally said as they drove into Forks. 

“Huh?”

“We already patrol the area anyway, what with Bella dating that leech, but we're extending the patrol to include your place,” Jacob explained, glancing over at him. “It's probably not needed, but I'm not about to risk your father coming around when you're alone.”

He winced at the mention of his father. “Will it just be you, or...?”

“No,” Jacob replied, shaking his head. “I tried, but Sam insists on us rotating shifts so we stay alert. The others wont come near you, though, and you'll probably not even know they're there. Bella never does.”

Xander was quiet as they pulled up to his house. He bit his lip and looked over at the younger boy. “Jacob, I...”

“What?”

“Nothing,” he lied. “I'll see you later.”

That said, Xander hurried out of the car and to his home, not looking back.

*

“I don't know what I feel anymore,” Xander admitted, resting his head on his pillow and letting the phone lay unattended on his opposite cheek. He was curled up on his bed, ignoring the fact that he needed to do homework.

“Do you think you like him?” Willow asked. “I mean, like that?”

“I don't know,” Xander repeated with a sigh. “He's...different, Willow. I can't explain it. I'll admit that I've occasionally liked a guy, but never enough to actually do more than have the random fantasy, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Willow whispered, before clearing her throat. “It's okay if you like him, Xander. He seems nice. Buffy and I will have to approve, of course.”

“Naturally,” he said with a grin. He grabbed the phone and rolled onto his back. “On the plus side, his pack watching my house at night is sending Edward Cullen into a quiet fit. You'd think the guy liked me or something.”

“Everyone likes you,” Willow said, her voice making it clear she was smiling. “You probably got under Edward's skin when you stood up to him. Just as long as he doesn't start stalking you and ignoring Bella, though, I think you're safe.”

“Don't give me nightmares,” he whined, before catching movement out of the corner of his eye. He frowned and sat up, turning to look out his window. At first all he saw was a shadow, before it became the clear shape of a human figure. It was large and meant it could only be two people. Xander highly doubted Emmett was spying on him, though. “Uh, Willow, would you say it's a bad sign when a guy is watching you through your window?”

“I think it depends on who it is,” she replied with uncertainty. “Angel sometimes does that with Buffy. Do you know who it is? Do you need to call the police? What if it's a bear?”

Xander rolled his eyes. “I don't think a bear can climb a tree that looks ready to keel over and then remain unmoving without the thing breaking. Besides, why would a bear be watching me through the window?”

“Right, sorry, my common sense went out the window,” she chuckled. 

He watched, eyes wide, as the figure tapped on his window, probably realizing his cover was blown. “Uh, Willow, I'll call you back. It's Jacob.”

“It's either really creepy that he's at your window or kind of sweet. I can't decide,” she said. “You better call me back, though.”

“Yup,” he said, before hanging up and pulling open his window. He managed to not blush when Jacob crawled inside in nothing but a pair of jean shorts. “Aren't you cold?”

“Considering I was covered in fur up until fifteen minutes ago? Not really,” Jacob replied, beaming at him. Xander had to fight the urge to search for sunglasses, because Jacob's grin was almost as bright as the sun. Jacob took a step toward him, before pausing and looking down at the ground in a way that was almost bashful. “I just thought I'd let you know that I'm patrolling your area tonight.”

“Oh.” He hadn't actually noticed anyone outside his house in the past four days. “Umm, have fun?”

“I thought...” Jacob stared down at the floor and shrugged. “It's stupid, never mind.”

“Hey, no, tell me.”

“Don't tell them we keep this close tabs on them, but when Edward watches over Bella at night he, uh, stays in her room. Watches her sleep.” Jacob was looking everywhere but at him and it took Xander a moment to realize what he was saying. “Like I said, it's stupid--”

“No, I mean, no,” he coughed. “As long as Rory doesn't find out then, yeah, that would be kind of nice. I mean, somewhat stalkerish, but since you told me before hand I'm going to let that go.”

“Stalkerish is kind of how we do things in Forks,” Jacob admitted. His statement broke the tension and Xander grinned.

“You get to suffer while staying here, though,” Xander said, reaching for his phone and dialing a familiar number. He quickly switched it over to speaker, thankful he had gotten Willow to teach him how. Jacob was starting to look a little panicked as the phone rang.

“Xander? Was it a bear?” Willow's voice came through. 

“No,” Xander said, shooting Jacob a small smile. “Just a wolf.”

*

“I can't believe you're agreeing to it,” Edward said with a sneer forming on his pristine face. Xander kind of wanted to throw his pudding at the vampire, just to mess him up a little. “Don't even think about it.”

“It isn't like you don't spend your nights hovering over Bella as she sleeps like some creepy Dracula wannabe,” he scoffed. “And I have it on good authority that you started that crap before she even gave you permission. At least Jacob has the dignity and respect to ask me before he starts occupying my room at night.”

“He's really doing that?” Bella asked in shock. She frowned and looked down at her plate. 

Xander had a feeling there was a Bella fit coming soon over Jacob no longer lusting after her and he was praying he wasn't in the room when it happened. Let Edward deal with that bomb. He saw Edward's look of exasperation as their eyes momentarily met. Xander grinned.

If there was one benefit to hanging out with a preppy vampire that read minds then it was the fact that he could insult the guy without even lifting a finger.

“Like I said, it's no big deal,” Xander said. “Oh, um, so Spring Break is next week and I wanted to let you know that my friends will be up for a few days. I'd really appreciate it if you all...avoided coming near my house while they are there.”

“You're not ashamed of us, are you Xander?” Alice asked, looking sad. 

“No, it's not that,” he said quickly. No, it was more that he was afraid to have his vampire friends meet the Vampire Slayer. He didn't think that would go over very well. 

He noticed Edward giving him a funny look, probably because while he was thinking a chorus of show tunes had entered his head in an attempt to mask his thoughts.

“I just...really don't think you'd get along,” Xander finally said. “At least give me a little warning if you guys decide to pop out of the woodwork like a bunch of creepy shadow vamps, okay?”

“Like we'd want to meet your dorky little human friends, anyway,” Rosalie scoffed.

“Oh, you so would,” he said.

“Can we get back to the part where Jacob is hanging out in your room at night?” Bella piped up. “I thought you guys were just friends. That's a little much for friends, isn't it? You guys are both, uh, guys and...”

“Did you just catch onto that, Sherlock?” Rosalie asked, cutting in before Xander could say anything. He had to appreciate her statement, because it had been right along the lines of what he was going to say. Bella was staring at them all with wide eyes, looking flushed and confused, which really cemented just how overprotected the girl was. Xander did not know how to respond to that, but apparently Rosalie did. “Gay people exist, Bella, so just get over it now before you give yourself a heart attack. I can understand enjoying the attention of multiple men. Trust me, I above all else understand the joys of that, but the fact that you're getting upset over Jacob not following you around like a little puppy anymore is ridiculous. If you can't give all your attention to Edward like a true mate is supposed to, then I don't think you're the best fit for our Edward.”

Edward opened his mouth, probably to defend Bella, but the expression on Rosalie's face made him remain silent.

“If Xander wants to be with the mutt, then he gets to be with the mutt. And if I hear anything come out of that mouth of yours that's against them being gay together, I will not be happy. If you're going to whine about something, whine about the fact that Xander is getting touchy-feely with the enemy and not that it's with a guy or the mutt that you enjoyed having drool all over you,” Rosalie finished.

“Wow,” Xander said in awe, giving Rosalie his brightest and most sincere smile. “Thank you. Not that Jacob and I are, uh, touching exactly, but if we were...thanks.”

“Ugh, whatever,” Rosalie snapped, standing. “Come on, Emmett, I need a walk.”

*

“Not that you really need to know this, but the Cullens officially think we're doing the nasty,” Xander stated, not looking up from his homework.

“They think we're what?” Jacob demanded in a harsh whisper, conscious of the fact that Rory was sleeping on the same floor.

“Doing the nasty.” Xander glared down at the Algebra problem that was clearly mocking him. “I told them we weren't, but you know how that goes. People usually take denial as confirmation.” Xander cleared his throat and looked up at Jacob through his lashes. “You're not, uh, mad that they think that, are you?”

Jacob was clearly blushing as he shrugged. He turned away from Xander and looked out the window, one finger fidgeting with the latch as though he wanted to open it and disappear. 

“I shouldn't have said anything,” Xander said. “Look, it's no big deal. You don't even like the Cullens, so what do you care about what they think? Nothing is going on between us--”

“That's kind of the problem,” Jacob interrupted.

“What do you mean?”

“I...” Jacob sighed. “I would do anything for you and I think you know that. And, honestly, this isn't entirely the imprint talking. You need me to be a friend and somewhat of a protector right now. You need me to help you feel safe with this whole mess with your dad. I get that, but...I guess a small part of me is always hoping for something more. I kind of want what those leeches assume we have.”

Xander looked back down at his textbook and swallowed. “Oh.”

“Sorry. I should, uh, go,” Jacob said quickly. 

“Wait, Jacob, you don't have to go,” Xander insisted. He climbed off the bed and walked over to Jacob's side. “I like you.” He winced at the hopeful look that flashed across Jacob's face. “I like you a lot more than I thought I could, but I'm not ready for...that. And, I'm sorry, but I can't promise that I'll ever be ready.”

“But...you're implying there's a chance?” Jacob asked.

“Well...yeah, I guess so.” Xander had a feeling that he would probably end up giving into the small desires he had to touch Jacob, but he wasn't about to tell Jacob that. He blamed seeing Jacob in wolf form for the feelings he was developing. It was easier than admitting to himself that he was slowly falling for the other guy. “Maybe you shouldn't dwell on that, though. I don't want you getting all depressed over me.”

Jacob smiled slightly. “Xander, I could never get depressed over you, just over what you have to go through.”

“Oh well, yeah,” Xander fumbled, unsure of how to respond. He never knew how to talk to Jacob when Jacob got like this. He understood it was the imprint, but it was still strange to have someone look at him and talk to him like he was worth something. “Listen, I do appreciate everything you're doing for me. I think you and your pack are taking my fear of my father a little too seriously, but I do appreciate it. I don't want you to ever think I'm taking this for granted.”

He shifted from foot to foot, before suddenly moving forward and pulling Jacob into a brief hug. Then his cleared his throat nervously and turned back toward his bed. He could practically feel Jacob grinning at him.

“So, uh, know anything about Algebra?”

*

Xander looked at the clock and let out a long, dramatic sigh. Time was evil. When you wanted things to last forever, it sped up. When you wanted things to hurry up, it slowed down. Xander was certain that a demon was controlling time, because otherwise he'd already be greeting his friends with open arms. 

“Stop fidgeting,” Rory said with a slight smile. “You look like you need to piss.”

“I haven't got to see my friends in forever!” Xander whined, leaning back on the sofa. “Are you sure they can't stay here?”

“I'm not letting two girls sleep in your bedroom,” Rory told him, eyes focused on the television. “And while I did like that librarian of yours, I don't really want to have him in my house. They'll be fine at the motel.”

“I know, I know,” Xander replied. “This is just taking forever. Maybe Giles' crappy car broke down. He doesn't know how to use a cell phone! They could be stranded--”

“Didn't that Willow girl teach you how to use yours? I'm pretty sure she knows her way around technology.”

“Stop being so reasonable,” Xander grumbled, ignoring his uncle's chuckle. He sat there for a few more minutes, before leaping to his feet. “I'm going to call Jacob.”

“You've been spending a lot of time with that boy,” Rory commented in a casual tone as Xander headed for the stairs. Xander paused with one foot poised to step up. He considered ignoring his uncle and heading to his room, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. With a deep breath, he turned on his heal and walked back over to the sofa. Rory glanced at him. “I'm not saying that's a bad thing, really.”

“He's my friend,” Xander offered. When Rory turned to fully look at him, Xander felt a jolt of subconscious fear run through him. He immediately pushed it down, reminding himself that Rory was not his father and wouldn't resort to violence over the slightest, nonexistent excuse. “He's, uh, just my friend.”

Rory stared at him for a moment, before cursing under his breath. “You're gay, aren't you?”

“What? No! I'm not...why would you think that? Why does everyone think that?” Xander demanded. “I'm not gay! I don't...I mean, Jacob and I...”

Rory let out a harsh breath. “Calm down.”

“No! I'm not going to calm down,” Xander insisted. “Just because all of my friends are girls doesn't mean that I'm gay. I'm not. I'm just...Shit.”

“It's not the end of the world,” Rory said. “I don't agree with that...sort of thing, but you're not really my son so it's not like I have any real say in it. They're always claiming it's not a choice, anyway. Not that I entirely believe that, but...I want you to be happy. I have to admit that you have been happier since you started hanging out with that Indian boy.”

“Is this one of those moments where you're implying that I could probably get away with anything right now due to how my life was with my parents?” he asked.

“Hardly,” Rory said with an expression that matched the one that often crossed Xander's face. It was a mix of annoyance, amusement, and uncertainty. “I'm just saying you can be honest with me. I'm not going to jump for joy over it and I'll probably lay some ground rules down, but I'm not going to freak out on you if you tell me the truth.”

“What's the point, when you already think you know what's going on?”

“Just tell me what actually is going on, Alexander,” Rory ordered.

Xander slumped down in his seat and stared at his shoes. “I might like Jacob, just a little. Nothing is going on, though. We really are just friends.”

“For the moment,” Rory added, scowling. Xander opened his mouth to refute Rory's words. “I'm old, but not blind. I can see the way he looks at you.” Rory watched him a moment. “Don't look so scared. I trust you to tell me the truth. When your friends leave, though, we will be having a conversation on some rule changes. Including the fact that Jacob is no longer allowed in your room with the door shut.”

Xander flushed a bright red. “Yeah, okay.”

*

The first thing he noticed about Willow was the scent of her hair, just before her body impacted with his own as she threw herself at him in a hard hug. Laughing, Xander held her tightly, one arm reaching out to pull Buffy into the embrace. He took a moment to enjoy the feel of his friends, the fact that they were actually there with him, before he looked up in order to grin at Giles.

“I think you've gained weight,” Buffy commented, pulling back.

“Are you calling me fat?” he asked.

“Have you gotten taller?” Willow demanded before Buffy could respond.

“It's only been two months, guys,” he said with a bright grin. “I'm the same old Xander.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Buffy said, looking at him intently. 

“You guys have only been here for five minutes,” Xander pointed out. “I doubt that's enough time for your to psychoanalyze my personality and growth.”

“So, when do we get to meet Jacob?” Willow asked. “And that Edward guy?”

“Yeah, I wouldn't mind striking fear into the hearts of a new breed of vampire,” Buffy said with a grin that was more sharp than happy. Xander rolled his eyes. You could take the Buffy out of Sunnydale, but you couldn’t take the Slayer out of her. Xander paused at that thought and frowned, realizing it made no sense. “You've got that funny look on your face that indicates you're thinking something ridiculous.”

“Giles, are you going to let them get away with interrogating me like this?” Xander complained.

“Of course he is,” Willow said. “He's had to deal with us for, like, ever. We can't torment Oz or Angel, since neither one of them get annoyed easily. Poor Giles has been getting the Xander treatment along with the usual stuffy Watcher treatment.”

“In that case, he should be used to it by now,” he said. “So go back to bugging him.”

“We really should be getting to the motel,” Giles piped up. “It's late and we have to start searching Port Angeles for information on the demon we're here to slay.”

“Work, work, work,” Buffy complained. “I'm on vacation, Giles!”

“There has already been a large case of animals disappearing. It could be people next,” Giles began in a tone of voice that indicated he had already gone over this.

“You'd think Forks would be talking about it, since Port Angeles isn't that far away,” Xander commented. “And Jacob hasn't mentioned his pack coming across anything.”

“Speaking of Jacob, when do we get to meet him?” Willow asked yet again.

“Later,” Xander said.

“Or now,” Buffy stated, her gaze focused on the darkness that spread out behind Rory's house. Xander fought the urge to curse and knew that since it was nightfall that one of the pack would be just past the treeline. And it also meant that there was probably a vampire hanging out in Bella Swan's bedroom. “There's something in the woods.”

“It might not be Jacob,” Xander told them. “I told you about the pack watching this area, thanks to Jacob's imprint induced paranoia. There's a good chance it's Paul, which could only lead to a fight, albeit probably a hilarious one.”

“You're introducing us,” Buffy stated, grabbing his hand and dragging him around the house. The others followed, looking amused, and Xander officially hated his life. He should have known that Buffy would insist on meeting any member of the La Push pack, regardless of whether it was Jacob or not. Especially if they were hanging outside his house every night. He loved his girls, but sometimes they were just as overprotective as a shape-shifter with an imprint.

“This can only end in tears,” Xander whined as they entered the woods. 

“Alright, wolfboy, time to show your face!” Buffy called out.

There was distinct shuffling off to the side and less than a minute later a human figure was stepping between the trees. It wasn't Jacob Black. 

“Oh my,” Willow said in a breathy little voice that caused Xander to glanced over just in time to see her face turn bright red.

“I prefer the term wolfgirl,” Leah Clearwater stated, crossing her arms. She was in the tiniest pair of cut off shorts Xander had ever seen and her tank top wasn't covering much either. She turned to Xander with a scowl on her face. “Don't you know the meaning of a secret? Didn't that idiot Jacob tell you not to tell anyone?”

“I didn't...I mean, he...crap,” Xander tried to explain. “Jacob knows that they know, okay? He didn't seem too upset about it, because they already know about the stuff that exists in the world. They know about the Cullens, too.”

Leah narrowed her eyes and looked like she was about to leap into a full out rant. 

“Aren't you cold?” Willow blurted out, her face still red as her eyes focused on...Xander blinked in shock as he realized she was staring at the tan expanse of Leah's stomach. Clearly, Willow and he were overdue for a little chat, because he didn't remember her ever looking at a girl like that before.

Leah stared back at Willow for a moment, eyes looking far too intense for Xander's liking, before she smile slightly. “My body temperature runs pretty high, so it's not like I'll catch the flu or anything.”

“Can we hold off on the you telling Sam I let out your secret and him killing me thing?” Xander asked.

“He won't kill you,” Leah stated, sounding for all the world as though she wished Sam would. “You're Jacob's imprint and apparently that means the entire pack has to protect you. Killing you would be counterproductive.”

“Well, I guess that's a relief.”

“What's with you, anyway? You feel weird,” Leah asked bluntly, turning her gaze to Buffy. “Actually, you all do. I just thought it was dopey over there.”

“Yet another strike for the Sunnydale team,” Xander said. “You can leave the Sunnydale in California--”

“Wait, what do you mean I feel weird?” Buffy demanded. “Usually it's just vampires that get all oogy around me.”

“Oogy?” Leah repeated, smirking slightly. “Nice language you guys have.”

“I wonder if that means the Cullens can feel you, too,” Xander mused.

“It's perfectly plausible,” Giles said. “The negative energy of Sunnydale has probably tainted us, so outsiders who are sensitive to that sort of thing would probably feel the difference.”

“Magic, it gets you every time,” Willow said, nodding sagely. 

Leah eyed Willow once more, who blushed an even brighter red, before shaking her head with a sigh. “Can I get back to my patrol now? Jacob will be here tomorrow night and you all can ambush him then. If he doesn't get in trouble for not keep secrets like he should, that is.”

*

“Alright, Willow, talk,” Xander ordered as the duo walked down the small town of Forks in search of food, while Buffy and Giles waited at the motel. Giles was probably forcing Buffy to prepare for the upcoming battle, though Xander wasn't entirely what it was that they were supposed to be fighting. 

“About what?” Willow asked, face carefully blank.

“You're not fooling me, I saw how you were reacting to Leah,” Xander said. He paused, slightly uncomfortable. “Are things going okay with Oz?”

“Yeah, things are fine,” Willow insisted. “Look, I'm just...I don't know. Can I, uh, ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you gay?”

Xander stopped walking and let out a long breath. “I don't think so? I mean, I don't really like guys, not really. I just like Jacob. I've found some guys to be attractive, but I never wanted to do things with them. I kind of want to with Jacob, though. Why?”

“I've just been thinking, that's all,” Willow replied. “Do you think it's possible to like both genders? Because I love Oz, I really do. I've just been having these occasional feelings towards girls here lately.”

“Like when you were staring at Leah.” 

“Yeah,” Willow said in a small voice. 

Xander immediately wrapped his arm around Willow's shoulders and thought about what she said. He considered his own feelings toward Jacob and the fact that for the most part he was mostly attracted to women. “Willow, I definitely think it's possible to like both. Just, you know, don't act on it because that would really hurt Oz.”

Willow nodded. “I know. Thanks, Xander.”

“That's what I'm here for,” he said brightly. “Now, let's get those burgers before Buffy starts eating Giles' books.”

*

What happened the next day was all Edward's fault. Xander would hold to this belief for all eternity and there was nothing Edward could do or say to sway him of this. After all, Edward could read minds. Edward knew his friends were at his house, minus Giles who was researching local legends and perusing the newspaper archives of the Port Angeles Post. So, Edward should have known to not be leaning against his Volvo that afternoon, looking like he had just stepped out of a car advertisement.

“Who is that?” Buffy asked, her mouth twisting. He knew exactly what she was feeling at that moment. No doubt she already knew Edward was a vampire, which triggered the ick factor, but he was also handsome. Or so most people thought. Xander might have thought the occasional guy was attractive, but Edward never fell into that category. Jasper, definitely, but not Edward.

When Edward turned his head to glare at him, it was clear he had been reading Xander's thoughts.

“That would be Edward Cullen,” Xander said.

“Oh, really,” Buffy said with a slow smile. “I've got to meet this guy.”

“Try not to mutilate him,” Xander said as Willow and him followed her over. “He can be annoying, but it's not worth the trouble.”

Edward's visible glare turned harder, before slipping into a pleasant mask as he turned to the girls. “Ladies. I take it you're Xander's friends from Sunnydale?”

“Let's cut to the chase, shall we?” Buffy said, stepping up to the vampire. Edward had never really seemed large before, thanks to the presence of Emmett, but next to Buffy he looked like a mountain troll. Xander smirked when Edward shot him a dirty look. Buffy glanced between them and scowled. “See? That right there? You were reading his mind, weren't you?”

Edward was silent a moment, no doubt debating the intelligence behind lying to Buffy Summers. “Yes, I was.”

“Right, well that's going to stop right now,” Buffy snapped. “You're going to keep your vampiric little mind fingers out of Xander's head.”

“It's not exactly something I can control,” Edward said.

“Like hell it isn't,” Buffy growled, taking another step forward. “I could hear lots of conversations if I was in a room with other people, but I don't pay attention to them. I don't listen in, unless it's important. You can choose to not pay attention.”

“My apologies,” Edward started.

“And don't start that old time talk with me, either,” Buffy interrupted. “I know old time and you are not it. In fact, I'd say you were pretty young for a vampire, especially if you spend most of your time listening in on other people's thoughts like some kind of...some kind of...”

“Peeping Tom,” Willow offered.

“Exactly! Peeping Tom!” Buffy said triumphantly. 

“Xander, I thought we told you that our status as vampires was a secret,” Edward said with a tired sounding sigh as he looked at Xander with what was probably meant to be disappointment. 

“He can tell us whatever he likes,” Willow said.

“Besides, he told you about demons,” Buffy added.

“It's true, I did tell you about demons,” Xander said, nodding. Edward scowled. “Don't get so bent out of shape, they already knew vampires existed.”

“So I can see,” Edward said, glancing at Buffy with a funny look on his face.

Buffy narrowed her eyes and took one last step closer. If Edward had been a normal vampire then he would have probably been running. She was clearly entering Slayer mode. “You're reading my mind right now, aren't you? Fine, you want to read my mind? Read this.”

Edward stared at her, his eyes slowly growing wider. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of a door shutting caused them to look over to see Bella slowly walking toward them. Edward cleared his throat. “We'll discuss that bit of information later. Perhaps you'd like to meet my family? My father would be--”

“Enter a den of vampires? Yeah, right, I'm not that stupid,” Buffy snorted. 

“We're a family, not--”

“Family, den, whatever,” Buffy interrupted. “It's all the same thing to me. Whether you live in a crypt or a nice big house, you're still vampires.”

“Can we speak of this later?” Edward asked in a low voice as Bella got closer.

Buffy shot Bella an annoyed look, before shrugging. “Maybe.”

“Uh, hi,” Bella greeted timidly, immediately stepping into Edward's side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Xander fought the urge to roll his eyes. If Jacob ever tried any of that protective and yet domineering crap with him, they'd be finished within a minute. Not that they were in an actual relationship...yet...

Xander blinked and focused back on the conversation. “Bella, these are my friends from Sunnydale. Buffy, Willow? Meet Bella. Giles isn't here, he's off being researcher-y.”

“It's nice to meet you,” Bella replied. “What is he researching?”

“Oh, you know those history types,” Xander said evasively, waving his hand around. “He's looking up the past or something.”

“Something,” Edward repeated with a frown.

“Nothing to worry your sparkly little head over,” Buffy informed him. She turned toward Xander, effectively ignoring Edward and Bella. “Come on, Xander, let's get inside. You're supposed to be giving details about this Jacob Black fellow before we meet him tonight.”

“You're seeing Jacob tonight?” Bella asked.

“Uh, yeah, he's coming over,” Xander offered. 

“Oh,” Bella said. Xander raised an eyebrow. She blushed. “I just haven't seen him in a while, is all. Usually he's visiting me on weekends, even though Edward doesn't like it. I guess he spends time with you now, instead.”

“Maybe he doesn't like feeling like he's competing for your attention,” Buffy said. “Now if you'll excuse us.”

“Buffy, that wasn't very nice,” Willow said as they walked back toward Xander's house. 

“Are you kidding me? Those two are in for a rude awakening,” Buffy exclaimed, pushing the front door open. “I know what that sort of relationship is like. That girl might feel like a fairy princess right now, but it's not going to end pretty. Please tell me I wasn't like that when Angel and I were together?”

“Well...” Xander trailed off. He thought about that for a moment, wanting to make sure he gave her an honest answer.

“Of course you weren't,” Willow insisted.

“Sometimes you got a little blindsided by him,” Xander said, “but you never let Angel boss you around like Bella does with Edward. Unlike that girl, you were still an individual person with or without Angel at your side. And while I don't claim to like the big guy, I can admit Angel wasn't as much of a shitty douche-bag as Edward is, either.”

“Language, Xander,” Rory called as they passed the living room.

*

Willow was attempting to get Xander to learn how to pass Algebra without her constant tutoring when they heard a soft tap on the window. Buffy looked up from the magazine she was reading and raised an eyebrow. “So, Prince Charming really does come to your window?”

“I told you he did,” Xander mumbled, trying to not blush as he got up to open his window and let Jacob in. 

Buffy made a small, embarrassing noise when Jacob landed on his feet, wearing only a pair of cut off shorts and displaying his broad, tanned chest to the entire room. Xander scowled, feeling oddly annoyed that Buffy and Willow got to look at Jacob half-nude. He pushed the thought away quickly, before Jacob had time to zone in on his shift in mood like he had a habit of doing. “Guys, this is Jacob Black. Jacob, meet Buffy and Willow.”

“Well, hello there,” Buffy said with a slow grin. She winked at Xander. “I approve already.”

“Really, Buffy? Really?” Xander asked, face growing hot from a blush.

“Yes, really,” she said.

“It's nice to meet you, Jacob,” Willow said, walking over to shake his hand. Just when Xander started to thank his lucky stars for having his Willow, who usually made a point to not embarrass him, she tugged Jacob down to eye level and narrowed her eyes. “If you hurt Xander, I'll beat you to death with a shovel.”

“Uh, I thought he explained the imprint thing to you,” Jacob replied with uncertainty.

“Oh, he did, I just thought I should make myself clear,” Willow told him.

“I'd never intentionally hurt him,” Jacob offered, shooting a glance in Xander's direction.

“Great!” Willow beamed.

“Anyway,” Xander cut in, “Jacob, I need to talk to you.”

He grabbed Jacob's arm, which felt more muscular that normal (a fact that Xander was sure was just an illusion in his head), and pulled him out into the hallway. He shut the door behind him and let out a slow breath of relief over no longer being under Buffy and Willow's scrutiny. “Man, I forgot how intense those two were.”

“They care about you,” Jacob said, shrugging. 

“And your pack cares about you,” he replied. “Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if me letting your shape-shifter status slip got you into trouble. I know we never really talked about it, but I don't keep things from them and they already know about the spooky stuff that's in the world, so--”

“I'm not mad, so you can stop babbling,” Jacob interrupted.

“Oh. So, did you? Get in trouble, I mean?”

“Sort of,” Jacob said. “It's complicated. Sam's a little ticked off at me for it, but I think he understood in the end. I'll get the crappy places to patrol for a while, though.”

“Good, I'm glad, uh, that it'll be okay,” Xander said awkwardly. They stared at one another for a moment, before Xander ducked his head and cleared his throat. “We should get back in there before Buffy starts going through my things.”

“Sure, sure,” Jacob agreed, before reaching out and grabbing Xander's hand. “I just...umm...”

“What?”

“You have no idea how slow I'm trying to take this,” Jacob admitted, face turning red. “I'm trying to go at your pace, be whatever you need me to be, but a part of me just wants to touch you all the time.”

He bit his lip, letting his brain process Jacob's words. “I, uh, think I could accept a little touching occasionally.”

“How often is occasionally?” Jacob asked stepping forward.

“I think--” he started.

“Are you two done with your secret meeting or not?” Buffy demanded, opening the door. She took in their hands, which were still attached, and how Jacob seemed to be leaning into Xander's personal space. She winced. “Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Sorry, Xander. Crap.”

“It's fine,” he said, gently tugging his hand out of Jacob's. “You didn't interrupt. We were just talking.”

“Uh-huh,” Buffy glanced between them and smirked. “Yeah, next time you're just talking, don't actually tell the person that catches you that. It just makes you look guilty.”

*

It was Xander's first time in Port Angeles and he wasn't really impressed. It was like a less Hellmouthy version of Sunnydale, to be honest, and it left him kind of bored. The only thing that made this place appear dangerous were the heavy clouds that were threatening to rain. He let out a sigh and turned to Giles. “Are you sure there's a demon here? Because I haven't heard of any murders and such.”

“Well, I'd hope so,” Giles said, blinking behind his glasses, “considering there haven't been any.”

“Just missing puppies,” Willow said in a sad voice. 

“When we say missing puppies do we mean completely missing or disappearing and showing up later...in pieces?” Buffy asked with a grimace.

“The first one, actually,” Giles stated.

“Wow, no remains, huh? I guess that leaves out bears,” Xander offered.

“Or wolves,” Willow added.

“I was hoping we could interview the last owner to report a missing animal,” Giles said as he led them through the small shopping district. “They own one of the consignment shops here. If we can figure out where the animal was last seen perhaps we can find some traces of magic or demonic activity that would be overlooked by local authorities.”

“It doesn't really sound very dangerous, though, does it?” Willow commented. “As sad as it is that pets are going missing, it's not exactly life threatening.”

“There's a good chance it will progress to humans,” Giles explained. “It's best to catch it now before it gets out of hand.”

“Hey, I'm all for getting the big bad before it has a chance to get all powerful,” Buffy said brightly. 

“Uh, guys,” Xander called, pausing at the entryway to one of the town's moldy looking alleyways. “Is it just me, or is that dog acting really weird?”

“Why am I not surprised that Xander managed to stumble upon something that will make this a whole lot easier?” Buffy asked as they watched the dog. It looked like a spaniel, though Xander wasn't really focusing on that. No, he was watching the way the dog weaved it's way farther down the alley as though it were drunk, whimpering and stiff legged in a way that indicated it didn't want to be going wherever it was heading. Buffy glanced at them all and nodded. “I say we follow the dog.”

So, they followed the dog. It didn't seem to notice that it had companions as it led them away from the town proper and toward the woods. Much like with Forks, once the trees started appearing in Port Angeles it was like they took over. One moment they were walking between two gift shops and the next they were in the forest. The dog led them through the trees, occasionally bumping into them. It's scared whimpering grew with each step it took until it brought them to the opening of a cave.

They quickly hid behind the trees, watching as the dog entered the cave. There was a loud roar, an animal's scream, and finally a puff of smoke.

Silently, they moved away from the cave to talk. Xander drew in a deep breath. “Okay, that was creepy.”

“Whatever it was, I don't think it wanted a pet,” Buffy said sadly. 

“I must get back to the motel,” Giles insisted, already walking toward the town. “This narrows down our demon alarmingly so, but I can't be certain until I look a couple of things up. Perhaps we could meet again tomorrow and go over whatever information I come up with?”

“You don't want us to help?” Willow asked.

“Willow,” Buffy hissed, “shut up, he's giving us free time!”

“Err, right, well,” Giles said, clearly ignoring Buffy. “I only have a few books to look over and I'm sure you want to spend time together--”

“In other words, he doesn't want to have to listen to you whine about it being vacation,” Xander interrupted. “Come on, girls, it'll be fun! We can go for a hike or...go for a hike. There really isn't much to do in Forks, I'm afraid.”

“No, but there is in Seattle and that's only, like, three and a half hours away,” Buffy said with a slow grin. 

“Oh God, you mean for shopping, don't you?” Xander complained.

“I'll let you bring your wolf,” Buffy offered.

*

Xander woke the next morning bright and early, wishing he had never invited his friends to Forks. Whose idea was it to get up at seven in the morning on a Wednesday in the middle of Spring Break? Oh, right. It was Buffy's. She wanted to make the most of her day in Seattle, which meant leaving at the crack of dawn and coming home near midnight. 

Xander could somewhat believe that he had agreed to go along. He knew what Buffy and Willow could do to a person who said no. He was just shocked Jacob had said he'd join them.

Groaning, Xander rolled out of bed and started the tedious process of getting ready. He was in the kitchen, busy stuffing food into his mouth, when Rory entered the room. “I still can't believe you're getting up this early to go shopping.”

“Try telling those girls no,” Xander said. It came out more as a whine than anything. “I'm just glad Jacob's going with us so I have someone to commiserate with.”

“Don't use big words so early in the morning,” Rory grunted, leaving the room. He came back a few minutes later and slapped two twenties on the table. “Here. In case of an emergency. Or, well, you can spend it on something else if you want. It's not like I give you an allowance. Just don't expect money every time you go shopping. This is just so those girls don't try to pamper you all day.”

“Thanks.” Xander smiled and was relieved to find he didn't feel weird about accepting the money. With his father he would have been waiting to see what the catch was. Maybe he was finally starting to relax.

“Yeah, well...” Rory trailed off as there was a knock on the door.

Xander moaned defeat and got to his feet, stuffing the money in his wallet as he did so. By the time he made it to the door the knocking became persistent. Sighing, he opened the door to see Buffy and Willow's grinning faces. “Don't be so happy this early in the morning.”

“We're going shopping!” Buffy exclaimed, barely giving Xander enough time to grab his coat before she was dragging him out of the house and toward Giles' sad, beat-up looking car. “You're driving to pick Jacob up and Willow will take the rest of the trip. That way you get to spend time in the backseat with Jacob.”

“Don't start the matchmaking, please?” Xander begged.

Buffy and Willow both giggled. That was what he had to suffer through during the ride to the reservation. They pulled up to the Black house, Xander yawning as the girls cheerfully jumped out of the car. He somehow managed to follow them up to the house, where they waited for him to knock on the door. He did so, rolling his eyes at their girlish chatter. 

Being in Forks for so long had made him forget what it was like to be the only guy along for the ride. Once again, he had to thank Jacob for agreeing to join them. Though, he knew it was only because Jacob didn't like the idea of his imprint being nearly four hours away by car. Xander was willing to take what he could get.

The door opened to reveal Jacob in what looked to be pajama pants with no shirt. He was rubbing his head and blinking, looking like an overgrown child. Xander fought down the urge to just hug him. When he finally spoke it was with a gravelly voice. “Is it that time already?”

“Yes!” Willow said, pushing Jacob into the house so they had room to enter. “Go on and get dressed. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“Sure,” Jacob yawned, “sure.”

“He's never been one for mornings,” Billy Black's voice commented from the living room as Jacob shuffled back down the hallway. He looked up from the television, where the morning news was playing, and smiled. “Might as well have a seat, it's going to be a while.”

“Hello, Mr. Black,” Willow greeted, bouncing forward to shake the man's hand. “My name is Willow and this is Buffy.”

“Hey,” Buffy said with a little wave. 

Xander sat down on the sofa, which had seen better days, just as he heard the shower turn on. Somehow he managed to ignore thoughts of Jacob naked and under running water. He shook his head and turned toward Jacob's father. “So, how are things?”

“Just fine,” Billy replied. He glanced at Buffy, who had just sat down, a curious expression on his face. The man didn't say anything, though. Xander was thankful. He didn't need anything interrupting Buffy's good mood. “Girls, I give you full permission to tire Jacob out and use him to carry your bags.”

“Oh don't worry, that's the plan,” Buffy said with a grin.

*

Xander thought he was going to fall asleep. They had been on the road for about an hour and the girls were in the front of the car, wiggling in their seats to what sounded like pop music. Xander wasn't sure. He was so tired that he couldn't even make out the lyrics. So, he did was any normal teenage boy would do. 

Okay, maybe curling up against Jacob and resting his head on the boy's shoulder wasn't what a normal teenage boy would do. But he had been raised around girls, so he figured that gave him a reasonable excuse. 

“What was your dad saying to you back at the house?” Xander asked in a tired mumble, knowing Jacob would be able to hear him over the music anyway.

“It's not important,” Jacob said quickly.

“With that tone of voice, I'd say it is,” Xander replied. “Come on, tell me? Please?”

“Stop begging, it's not attractive,” Jacob chuckled.

“Yes it is.”

“Fine, whatever,” Jacob said with a sigh. Xander could almost feel him roll his eyes. “He was commenting on Buffy. There's something...I don't know. I told the pack and my dad about you calling her a warrior. My dad didn't believe me. Neither did the pack. Leah was the only one who said it was plausible, but that was mostly because she liked the idea of a girl being strong and powerful. Anyway, for some reason all my dad had to do was meet her.”

“Yeah, Buffy's special,” Xander said. “She looks cute and fluffy, but if you look at her the right way you see what she's hiding inside. A ferocious, shoe loving tiger.”

“It's good,” Jacob told him. “I think the pack would like her, to be honest. I like knowing she can protect you, too.”

“Hey, I can protect myself,” Xander protested. His protest ended with a jaw popping yawn, though, so he didn't think that it made that much of an impact.

“Take a nap,” Jacob ordered, lifting his arm to wrap it around Xander's shoulders. Xander could see Willow glance back at them with a grin, which he chose to ignore. Instead, he burrowed further into Jacob's side, enjoying the heat. “I'll wake you when we get there.”

*

They were in the middle of a department store when Xander spotted a familiar face. Logically, he knew it wasn't his father, but apparently the rest of him wasn't prepared to see dark hair, dark eyes, and a face that resembled that of the man. He felt like the world was dropping away from him. His stomach plummeted. His vision narrowed down to where all he saw was his father. Or a stranger that looked like his father.

He had a habit of standing in his bedroom, watching through the window for him. He waited on baited breath to see his father's car, the glimpse of his dark head as he climbed out, the sound of his voice as he made for the house. He was always waiting.

Not in longing. Not in excitement. But in terror. Waiting was his worst enemy. It allowed him to think, to remember.

The sight of his father could make him feel like a five years old all over again, cold and alone in a world that didn't care. Because who could care for him? His own father hated him. So, he always waited and as dark hair appeared, familiar eyes would glance up to his window. That's when Xander always knew his fear would be reality.

“Xander? Come on, Xan, speak to us,” Willow's voice cut into his thoughts like a knife, shredding the few flashes of memory that had threatened to take over. Xander blinked, glanced over to where the familiar looking man had been, and sighed in relief when he saw no one. Willow was watching him with worried eyes, her voice soft. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said quickly.

Jacob hovered next to Willow, biting his lip. “You're not okay. That's not the first time you've done that around me. Maybe you need to sit down?”

Xander sighed and glanced over the top of Willow's head toward Buffy, who watched the other two practically smother him with worry. He begged her with his eyes to distract them.

“Sitting down is a good idea,” Willow announced, reaching out to touch his elbow. “You don't feel faint do you?”

“You're probably hungry,” Jacob added. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Guys, I'm fine,” he insisted.

“You look a little pale,” Jacob replied.

“He does, doesn't he?” Willow agreed. 

“You know,” Buffy announced, hands on her hips, “Jacob's clothes are a little outdated. When was the last time you got new threads?”

“Uhh,” Jacob stammered, glancing between all of them. He was still giving Xander a concerned look, but seemed willing to accept the interruption. He glanced down at his shirt, which was a little thin in places. Xander thought it looked nice, but that could have been hormones talking. “I don't really get new clothes. I mean, sometimes I shift and things get torn apart. It's just easier this way.”

“You don't get new clothes?” Willow asked, her mother hen complex immediately switching onto Jacob. “You poor thing. Come on, I saw a shirt that would amazing with your skin.”

“But--” Jacob started and Willow grabbed his arm. Regardless of his complaints, he still let her pull him away.

“Thanks,” Xander told Buffy as they followed. 

“Could you imagine if you had to deal with both at once all the time?” Buffy asked.

“I really don't want to,” Xander replied.

*

Jacob was safely at home, loaded down with a few new shirts and jeans. Xander kind of wished he were with him, because researching never had been his thing. He didn't feel useful when he researched. Sometimes he felt like Giles gave him the books that were clearly not what they were looking for, because heaven only knew that Xander only read about a fourth of what was in his stack.

“The good news is that I know the demon we are hunting,” Giles informed them, giving each of them a book. “The bad, of course, is that I'm not sure how to kill it.”

“What do you know about it? Because I'm thinking the less I have to read, the better,” Buffy piped up.

“The Kalindel is draconian in nature, but it's defenses aren't the same. It has the same body shape, skin, and killing style as a dragon,” Giles explained. “It's considerably smaller than a dragon, though.”

“Well, that's a plus,” Xander said.

“If we can find the Kalindel's weaknesses then I should be able to gather up whatever weapons we shall need by tomorrow,” Giles informed them.

“I'll tell Jacob,” Xander said, opening his book. “He seems kind of excited about the whole slaying a demon thing.”

“He needs to stay out of the way,” Buffy reminded him. “I don't want any heroics.”

Xander didn't bother commenting. He knew Jacob well enough by now to know the shape-shifter was going to jump into the fray. Especially if it meant protecting Xander. The thought made him smile. He was used to Buffy protecting him, but while she was a wonderful friend it always felt like she was doing it because it was her duty as a Slayer. Even with the imprint, Xander could tell that Jacob genuinely wanted him safe. It was a nice change to some of the men Xander had had in his life.

Two hours later, they had their information. Giles was optimistic, because he had actually brought a silver tipped axe with him. That done, Buffy insisted it was time for them to all walk down to the local diner for lunch. Giles, after a moment of badgering, agreed to join them.

They were a couple of blocks away from the motel when Buffy spoke up. “So, Willow and I discussed it and we've decided that we approve.”

“Of what?” Xander asked.

“Jacob, of course,” Willow explained.

“Oh.” Xander felt a little warm on the inside over this, which was ridiculous because it wasn't like he was in love with Jacob or anything. They'd only known each other for a couple of months and had yet to even kiss. Not that he thought about kissing Jacob...often. 

He glanced over at Giles and saw the older man had a pleasant expression on his face, which was all the indication Xander needed to see that Giles didn't mind Xander liking a boy. He was glad. Giles had been the closest thing to a father figure for him for a while. Rory was great and all, but Xander had a feeling he'd always view Giles as more of a father. Fighting the forces of darkness probably did that.

They walked a couple more blocks before Buffy stopped, her body tensing in the way it usually did when a vampire was nearby. Xander scanned the streets, his eyes landing on a familiar pixie haired head. Alice was leaning against one of the Cullen's cars, this one less flashy than the others. Jasper was at her side as usual, his gaze staring at her face fondly as she talked.

“Are they Cullens, too?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, but they're the ones I like,” Xander offered. At his words both Alice and Jasper looked over.

“Xander!” Alice called excitedly, bouncing over to the sidewalk to greet them. Jasper followed at a slower pace. “Are these your friends? Hello! I'm Alice. This is Jasper. It's wonderful to meet you. I heard about your meeting with Edward. Don't judge us all by him. He's so grumpy sometimes. Willow, you're hair is beautiful!”

“Umm, thank you,” Willow replied, eyes wide. Xander snickered. Alice's brain jumped through topics of conversation much in the same way Willow's did but aside from Xander, Willow hadn't come into contact with many people who could talk like her.

Xander quickly introduced his Scooby family and hid the amusement on his face when Giles automatically reached out to shake Jasper's hand. Jasper seemed startled by the contact, but managed a short, albeit stiff hand shake. 

“What are you guys doing in town?” Xander asked.

“Esme's shopping,” Alice replied, gesturing at the grocery store. “She's hoping a large amount of food will lure you into bringing your friends to meet them.”

“I hate to burst her bubble, but that's not happening,” Buffy said.

“Considering you appear to be no threat to the human population, I must concur with Buffy,” Giles said. “It would do best if she remained out of your affairs. Visiting your home would be asking for trouble.”

“You're tense,” Jasper commented, his eyes on Buffy. 

A wave of calm hit Xander and he could tell the others felt it as well. Buffy relaxed for a moment, before immediately tensing up again, even more this time. “I'd appreciate it if you didn't use any of your powers on me. It makes me want to return the favor.”

Xander wasn't sure if it was the strong confidence in which Buffy spoke or what she was feeling at the moment, but the calmness dissipated. Jasper nodded, his face blank. “I apologize. It becomes a habit with humans.”

“Jasper doesn't like confrontation,” Alice offered. Xander nearly snorted. He pegged Jasper for the type to enjoy a good confrontation, especially in the form of a fight or hunt. Just not around humans. 

“As long as he doesn't use it on me or anyone who doesn't want the emotional help, then I don't mind,” Buffy said.

“Your abilities are fascinating,” Giles commented. “Do many lumos vampires have skills like yours?”

“It's rare,” Jasper replied.

“Carlisle says it's a reflection of who we were as humans,” Alice offered.

Before Giles could ask more the door to the grocery store jingled as Esme came out, bags of groceries filled to the brim in her hands. She smiled at them warmly, before sending her children a frown. “Aren't you two going to help me? Or did you agree to our outing just to get out of the house?”

“Sorry, Esme,” Jasper said, taking most of the bags out of her hands and heading for the car. 

“You know I couldn't take anymore of Edward and Bella's piano time,” Alice said in what would have been a whine on anyone else. “Even Jasper and I don't get that sappy. And before you ask, Xander's friends already refused dinner.”

“Be nice to your brother,” Esme said automatically. She turned to them. “Are you sure you wouldn't like to come over? I hardly ever get to cook for visitors.”

“Tell you what, I'll come over next week and you can overfeed me,” Xander offered.

It wasn't until they had already left that Buffy turned to Xander with wide eyes. “I think that was the nicest vampire I have ever met.”

*

Xander glanced over at Giles nervously and wondered why he had decided to stay to talk. He could have gone to the movies with Willow and Buffy. Instead, he decided to talk to Giles. Not because he wanted to catch up, though he did, but because Giles was the best source of advice Xander knew. 

He cleared his throat for the fifth time.

“Xander, please turn off the ridiculous television and just say what you need to say,” Giles said without looking up from his book.

“Maybe I just want the quality of your company,” Xander said, though he shut the television off anyway.

Giles merely look at him over his glasses.

“Fine,” Xander huffed. “So, this imprint thing might be going wonky on me.”

“How do you mean?”

“I've been feeling...okay, this is going to sound really weird,” Xander said, “but it's like when I was possessed by the hyena spirit.”

“How do you know that's not what the recipient of an imprint feels?” Giles asked.

“Because I talked to another imprintee,” Xander replied. “Emily said she doesn't feel anything like what I described. It's not a constant thing, to be honest, but I can literally feel when Jacob's wolf is at the surface because it's like my inner hyena is at the surface in response. And it's messed up, because I don't have an inner hyena anymore.”

“Xander,” Giles said with a sigh, “you must understand that primal spirit possession is very rarely documented. Most people who are possessed by one don't allow themselves to lose that spirit. There is also the fact that your spirit was clearly the Alpha female.”

He ignored the female comment. He had done his research on hyenas after that incident, so he knew his hyena being female had been a good thing. Xander swallowed. “What are you saying, Giles?”

“Possession, regardless of what kind, always leaves a print behind. I must admit that I expected traces of the hyena to appear in you sooner or later,” Giles told him. “What you're describing could simply be that, or the Hellmouth could have twisted it a bit.” At Xander's wide eyed look, Giles quickly continued. “Instead of just having slight personality quirks, you're feeling as close to a possession as you can without actually being possessed. You're no longer the hyena, but the imprint with Jacob is allowing those aspects of the hyena left behind to come forward. It's linked directly with that. If it wasn't for the imprint, I don't think you ever would have felt it.”

“Is there anything I can do to stop it?” he asked.

“I doubt it,” Giles said honestly. “It's not the end of the world and it may actually help your relationship with this Jacob boy.”

“How?”

“If you didn't have the experience of being the hyena, of being an animal, you wouldn't understand what Jacob feels with his wolf side,” Giles said. “If anything, this may bring you closer. Have you told him about this?”

“He knows I'm feeling the imprint,” Xander said. “He doesn't know about the hyena, though.”

“Tell him. Honesty is healthy in a relationship, Xander. I know you haven't seen many healthy couples in your life, but that doesn't mean your relationship with Jacob is going to be like them.”

Xander closed his eyes a moment. Maybe that's why he was so hesitant to let his feelings for Jacob go farther. “What if...”

“Xander,” Giles said softly, “you're not your father. You have a kind and generous spirit that will guide you in this, if you let it. Don't let your father's mistakes stop you from being happy. Learn from your father's actions and be the better man because of them.”

He glanced over at Giles and met the older man's eyes. This was a conversation he never would have been able to have with Rory. He had never expected Giles to bring it up either, but he should have expected it. Giles knew how to get to the bottom of things when he needed to. Xander nodded and gave Giles a slight smile. “Thanks.”

*

He should have been sleeping. Tomorrow was a night of demon slaying, so he really needed his rest. Xander rolled over in his bed for the third time and stared out his window. He wondered where Jacob was, then quickly banished the thought because he was attempting to spend a few hours of his life not obsessing over Jacob Black.

That, of course, meant that Jacob's shadow fell across his bedroom as the shape-shifter appeared at his window like some kind of creepy prince. If Xander didn't adore him, he probably would have been annoyed about having his silence intruded upon. Letting out a sigh, he climbed out of bed and opened the window, quickly shutting it after Jacob entered. Damn, it was cold out there.

“I think I read somewhere that the hotter your core temperature, the harder it is to withstand the cold. How do you manage it?” he asked, keeping his voice low so Rory wouldn't wake up.

“Maybe I'm magical,” Jacob offered with a grin.

“You're something, alright,” Xander said, grabbing Jacob's arm and tugging him toward the bed. “Come on, we can lay down for our evening imprint time.”

Jacob hesitated next to the bed, but at Xander's stern look he kicked off his shoes and climbed in. Xander followed and was immediately surrounded by near suffocating warmth as Jacob automatically wrapped his arms around Xander's torso from behind. He stiffened and Jacob started to pull away, “Sorry.”

“No, it's okay,” Xander whispered, grabbing Jacob's arm and pulling him closer. He held Jacob's hand, feeling like a ridiculous girl, and forced his body to relax. He could feel the full length of Jacob's body curled against him, like Jacob was trying to touch every bit of him he could get away with. Xander drew in a deep breath, smelling Jacob's earthy scent. “So, uh, I kind of need to tell you something.”

“You can tell me anything,” Jacob immediately said.

“Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out,” he replied. “Giles said I should be honest with you and while I don't usually take other people's advice, I try to take his. Do you remember that talk we had that one night a couple of weeks ago when I told you how I could kind of feel the imprint?”

He felt Jacob nod, the arms around him tightening briefly.

“There's kind of a reason for that,” he said. “When I was a freshman I had this situation happen at the Sunnydale Zoo. It was an accident, really. I was trying to stop these bullies from picking on this one kid that was even dorkier than me, if you can believe it, and we stumbled into a ritual without meaning to. I ended up possessed.”

“What do you mean by possessed?” Jacob asked, his voice low with worry.

“You know how you feel with your wolf? How you have animal instincts and feelings?” Xander asked. “Imagine if that's all you had, if you were no longer human and you were just an animal in a human body. I was there, yes, but it was like I was caged in my own head. I could feel the animal spirit control my body and even access my memories. I think I might have enjoyed it if we had been balanced, or joined like you are with your wolf side. Anyway, we did a spell that reversed the possession.”

“Why do I feel like there's more to it than that?”

“Because there is,” Xander told him. “According to Giles, possession always leaves something behind. That's why I feel the imprint and why when I saw you in the woods as a wolf I wanted to...” Xander trailed off. He hadn't actually told Jacob about his animal based feelings in the woods. “I don't know if you noticed, but inwardly I was reacting to you like an animal. It kind of freaked me out a bit, but at the same time it felt familiar. I'm not an animal and I'm not a shape-shifter like you, but because your imprint on me is pulling at those traces left behind...I'm more animal than most humans. I guess we were kind of meant to be, because aside from a fellow shape-shifter, I can understand your mentality more than most people.”

“It won't hurt you, will it?” Jacob asked.

Xander shook his head. “I might get growly with you on occasion, though, seeing how you're male and...uh...”

“What?” 

Xander let out a sigh and twisted around in Jacob's grasp. He ended up pressed against Jacob's chest, the shape-shifter's heat practically burning through his thin t-shirt. He looked up into Jacob's face and fought down the urge to kiss him. “The animal I was possessed with was a female hyena.”

Jacob's mouth started to curl into a grin.

“Don't laugh,” Xander said sternly. “You don't know anything about hyenas, do you?”

“Not really,” Jacob replied. 

“Did you know that in most wolf packs it's the female that's the main Alpha?” Xander suddenly asked. “That's the real reason Leah is so bitchy. Sure, she's still pissed off about the whole imprint issue with Sam, but most of it is because her wolf DNA or whatever it is that makes you a wolf is telling her that as the only wolf in the pack capable of carrying children, she should be Alpha.”

“I didn't know that,” Jacob admitted. “I looked wolves up, but mostly to see about eating habits and stuff. Female shape-shifters are so rare, none of us even thought about it.”

“So go a little easy on her, okay?” Xander asked.

“Sure, sure,” Jacob said with an eye roll. “What does this have to do with you being a female hyena?”

“Hyenas take the female in control thing to the extreme,” he explained. “Male hyenas are the bottom of the barrel. The females hunt, protect the pack, and carry the children. The males are there to help in reproduction and pack numbers for the most part. So me having been possessed by not only a female hyena, but the Alpha female of that particular pack? That's not some small feat, Jacob. I'm not strong, not really. I'm not a leader, either, but that hyena recognized something in me and it's that something that is either going to make our relationship amazing or turn me into a total bitch if you try to dominate me.”

“Now why would I want to dominate you?” Jacob asked, a glint in his eyes telling Xander that he was partially teasing.

“Because Sam and Leah aren't the only ones with the soul of an Alpha, Jacob,” Xander said softly. Jacob blinked in shock at him. “I can feel it radiate off of you.”

Jacob let out a sigh. “I was suppose to be Alpha, my family always is, but I just can't handle that kind of responsibility. I don't want to be Alpha, not right now. I let Sam keep the position.”

“At least you acknowledge that you have the potential.”

“I wouldn't try to dominate you because I'm secretly Alpha material, you know,” Jacob said. “When it comes to being an Alpha there really is only one person who can be stronger than you, and that's your mate. The stronger you are, Xander, the stronger I am and I wouldn't expect anything less from you.”

“Thanks for the pressure,” Xander joked. 

Jacob smiled and reached up to trail his finger along Xander's cheek. Xander sucked in a sharp breath. Jacob pulled his hand away and placed it back on Xander's hip. “Sorry.”

“No, I...” he swallowed. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“It's really hard to hurt me,” Jacob said, confused.

“Not like that. I want to kiss you so badly right now, but what if I turn into my father? I can't stand the thought of hurting you like that,” Xander said in a quick rush.

“Then don't,” Jacob said. “Stay away from alcohol and when you get mad at me, talk it out and don't direct your anger at me. It's that simple. Xander, you're stronger than that. I trust you.”

“But with the imprint I could end up hurting you and you couldn't even stop me.”

“How would you feel if you did hurt me like that?” Jacob asked.

“Like shit,” he said immediately.

“The whole point of you being my imprint is so I can keep you from feeling like shit. I would stop you, because stopping you would mean keeping you from hurting yourself through me.”

“I didn't think of it like that,” Xander admitted.

“Well, now you have,” Jacob said brightly. “So...about that kiss...”

Xander chuckled. “How long have you been waiting for me to kiss you?”

“Since the moment I laid eyes on you, or at least shortly after,” Jacob told him.

“You're ridiculous,” Xander insisted. He stared at Jacob's hopeful face for a moment, before deciding that laying here nervous wasn't getting him anywhere. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Jacob's.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting. Jacob's lips were soft, but definitely masculine. It was clear that the shape-shifter was holding back, letting him set the pace. He kept the kiss soft at first, closing his eyes to intensify the sensation. He felt Jacob's hand tighten on his hip and he parted his lips slightly in response. A soft sound escaped Jacob's throat.

It was the sound that did it. Like a floodgate opening, Xander felt a rush of desire that would have made him dizzy if he had been standing. He immediately reached up and cupped Jacob's face, deepening the kiss and pulling up the courage to flick his tongue across Jacob's lower lip. The groan that emitted from Jacob was thankfully muffled by their mouths. Xander could tell that Jacob was going to be the vocal type. The thought made him smile. 

“Xander,” Jacob breathed out, before kissing him again.

He wasn't sure how long they spent kissing. It was like a pattern of waves, the kisses deepening to the point of erotic before calming back down to simple pecks, only to deepen once again. Xander knew he was aroused and that Jacob could feel him. He knew because he could feel Jacob's arousal pressed against him, making the fabric of his sleep pants feel outrageously thin. 

He pulled back from the latest kiss, head tilting back. Jacob's mouth trailed hotly along his jaw and down to his neck. He felt teeth nip at his skin and a whimper escaped him. In response to the sound, Jacob started growling softly, his teeth sinking deeper, close to breaking skin. Xander gasped, his back arching in response and causing their groins to rub together.

“Holy--” Xander cut himself off, a part of his brain still aware that Rory was one bedroom away.

Jacob's growl morphed into a moan and before Xander could blinked, Jacob was kissing him again, tongue delving into his mouth. Xander slid his hands along Jacob's sides to his bare back, the tips of his fingers digging into the muscle there when Jacob sucked on his tongue. Why had he been resisting this? They could have been doing this weeks ago. 

Somehow his hands had traveled downward, his fingers slipping underneath the waistband of Jacob's cutoffs. He pressed in closer to Jacob's body, reveling in the heat and ignoring how it was starting to make him sweat. Jacob pulled back and dropped a few soft kisses just behind his ear. “We should slow down.”

“Yeah,” he replied. “No.”

He pressed his mouth back against Jacob's. His leg bent, curling around Jacob's hip, bringing their groins into contact again. Jacob moaned again against his lips, hips rocking forward. Xander could feel the muscles in Jacob's lower back shift as he moved and if that wasn't the hottest thing in the world, Xander didn't know what was. 

It took him a moment to realize Jacob was tugging at his shirt. He pulled back and sat up in order to pull it off. He threw it to the side before diving down on top of Jacob, grinning at Jacob's look of surprise. He pushed Jacob onto his back and straddled his hips, moving in for another kiss. As they kissed, Xander stretched out, ensuring their entire body was touching. Jacob's bare chest touching his own caused a shiver to run through him and he bit down on Jacob's lower lip in response.

“We really should slow down,” Jacob whispered, running his hands up and down Xander's back.

“I know,” Xander replied. With a sigh he rolled off of Jacob and was pleased when Jacob immediately pulled him into his arms. He buried his face in the crook of Jacob's neck and breathed in his scent. 

“Are you disappointed?” Jacob asked nervously.

Xander lifted his head. “Not at all. Jacob, I don't expect us to suddenly start having sex. I'm kind of...uhh, well, I don't know about you, but I'm a virgin.”

“Me, too,” Jacob said in an easy tone, like it wasn't a big deal.

“Seriously?” Xander asked. “Have you looked in a mirror? How did you manage to stay a virgin this long?”

Jacob blushed and rolled his eyes. “I had my heart set on Bella for a while and then when I heard about imprinting, I just figured it would be better to wait. I didn't like the idea of doing that with someone else.”

“Were you sad that you didn't get her?”

“At first, yeah,” Jacob admitted, “but then I really got to know you. I think I would have wanted you in the end whether I had imprinted or not.”

Xander didn't know what to say about that. So, he scooted closer to Jacob and closed his eyes. They lay there silent in the dark until Xander fell asleep. Sometime in the night he felt Jacob shift away and kiss his forehead. When he awoke in the morning, he was alone.

*

Buffy was practically vibrating in the seat next to Xander. He knew she had enjoyed her vacation, but a Slayer needed a certain number of hours focused on violence each week. Thankfully, in a couple of hours she would get to chop up a demon to cure her agitation. And if that didn't take care of all her energy, Xander figured he could talk her into attacking a couple of trees.

They were driving up to the reservation to pick up Jacob, though how the massive guy was going to fit into Giles' itty bitty car with them Xander didn't know. Last time it had only been four people in the car. Though, Willow and Buffy were tiny, so they could probably share a seat. He was so busy thinking out the logistics of a comfortable car trip to Port Angeles with five people that he almost missed spotting the group of large Native Americans standing around the Black's front yard.

“Great,” Xander muttered. “Okay girls, this is the pack. Please be nice to them. I don't mind you tormenting the Cullens, but I have a feeling I'm going to be around these guys for a very long time.”

“Oh, calm down, Xander,” Buffy said, throwing the door open. “We're civilized people. Now, can we hurry it up so I can kill something?”

Xander led them over to the group of shape-shifters that were congregating on the porch. He recognized Sam, Paul and Leah, but couldn't remember the names of the others two. Leah was leaning against the porch post and as they approached, she smiled openly at Willow, who squeaked in response. Xander chuckled and poked Willow in the hip, who flushed bright red and shuffled over to hide behind Buffy. 

“Hey guys,” Xander greeted. “Is Jacob here?”

“He's inside primping,” one of them snickered.

“Like you wouldn't do the same, Embry,” Leah snapped. Embry scowled at her, but said nothing in reply. 

“I'm liking this girl more and more,” Buffy whispered.

“Wolves have sharp hearing,” Leah offered with a smile, “and thank you. I'll go get prince charming to stop looking in the mirror.”

Willow let out a rush of air when Leah was no longer in sight. Xander reached over and poked her again. “Man, you've got it bad.”

“Shut up,” Willow hissed, face turning even redder.

“Jacob tells me you've fully accepted the imprint,” Sam said, completely ignoring their conversation. Everyone's eyes turned to Xander, who felt like he was being examined under a microscope. “That's good.”

“Yeah, well, I'm lucky,” Xander stammered. “Jacob's...he's...”

“Attractive, wonderful, beautiful, sweet,” Buffy said. “I could go on.”

Xander rolled his eyes and opted to ignore her. “So, is there a reason you're all over here?”

“We wanted to let you know that if you need us this evening don't hesitate to have Jacob call us,” Sam informed them.

“Thank you,” Buffy replied. “It shouldn't be an issue, we do this sort of thing all the time, but it's nice to have back-up.”

“You fight demons regularly, then?” Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

“About as often as you shift,” Buffy retorted. Paul snorted in response. “Fine, we have the time since Jacob is currently busy.”

“Buffy,” Giles started.

“I'm not going to fight one of them. I'm just going to give them a little demonstration,” Buffy assured, walking back over to Giles' car. They all watched as she grabbed the front of Giles' car and effortlessly lifted it a few feet off the ground. She carefully lowered it and turned to Paul with a smug expression, who was staring open mouthed at her. 

“I think you've made your point,” Giles said in a tired tone. He was clearly starting to give up on her status as a Slayer being a secret. Xander almost felt a little sorry for him. Almost, because Paul's face was too priceless for Xander to feel anything but entertainment.

“That was so cool,” the other boy said, bouncing in place.

“Shut up, Seth,” Paul grumbled, turning on his heel and storming inside.

“Don't mind him, he's got anger issues,” Seth said. “You should have heard him this morning when Jacob came home from his patrol. Man, I don't know what you two did last night but Jacob was on cloud nine and Paul wanted to rip his throat out to get him to be quiet.”

Xander blushed bright red and stared down at his feet to avoid the amused looks being sent his way. A door opened and he looked up to see Jacob and Leah exit the house. Jacob beamed like the sun when their eyes met and Xander wanted to kill himself for suddenly being so taken with the shape-shifter. One make-out session and he was suddenly the puppy following Jacob around.

Not that he really minded. Jacob didn't seem to mind him immediately walking over to stand by his side, either.

“Alright, let's get this show on the road!” Buffy said enthusiastically. “I've got a demon to slaughter, people.”

*

“So, this thing likes animals?” Jacob asked, peering around the tree at the cave beyond.

“Yeah, especially puppies,” Willow said in a sad tone.

“Do you think it'll go for a wolf?”

“I don't see why not,” Giles replied. “I assume this means you have an idea on how to get it to venture out?”

“I sure do, British man,” Jacob said, grinning. Xander fought down a smirk at the nickname. “I figure if I go and act pathetic in front of his cave, he'll have to come out. A beast that eats little animals isn't going to give up the chance to devour a weak wolf.”

“I like that plan,” Buffy announced. “As long as you promise to get out of the way when it finally does come out.”

“Sure, sure,” Jacob said lightly. So lightly that Xander knew he was lying. Jacob was so revved up for a fight he was practically vibrating.

“Okay, let's do this,” Buffy announced.

Jacob walked away, peeling his shirt off as he did so. Xander pulled his eyes away from the sight, but he could still hear Jacob's clothes shifting as he undressed. A moment later a massive, russet wolf emerged between two trees. Xander felt a strong pull toward him and gave in, walking over. He dropped to his knees and let Jacob sniff his hair. He reached up and slide his fingers through Jacob's fur, before finally wrapping his arms around Jacob's neck.

“Uh, guys,” Buffy said.

Xander growled low in his throat at the interruption, face buried against Jacob's neck. Jacob made a soft, calming sound in an attempt to ease him. Xander's brain didn't feel normal, though. It was like his was feeling the world through a foggy, primal lens. He clutched harder at Jacob, the growl in his throat skipping in what almost sounded like a hiccup. Or a laugh. It was soft, but the others still heard it.

“Xander, what--” Buffy started.

“Buffy, give them a moment,” Giles interrupted.

Xander closed his eyes and focused on the feel of Jacob's fur. A few moments passed in what could have been mere seconds or full minutes. Finally, he returned to himself and pulled away from Jacob. His eyes darted randomly around them. “Uh, sorry about that.”

“What was that?” Buffy demanded.

“A side effect of the imprint,” Giles said. “It's not harmful to him, I assure you. Now, if we can get on with this before it gets too late? I have quite a way to drive tomorrow, in case you've forgotten.”

“Fine, we'll get you to bed early,” Buffy replied with one last confused look in Xander's direction.

Xander stood and stepped back. Jacob watched him for a moment, before he lowered his head and whimpered in the most submissive way possible. Xander wasn't sure whether he wanted to comfort him or dominate him. Instead he took another step back to avoid temptation. Jacob trotted past them and as he neared the cave he began to slow, dragging his feet and whimpering like he was in pain. When he reached the cave entrance he collapsed onto the ground, letting out a yelp.

A hand grabbed his arm. Xander hadn't realized he had started to rush forward. He looked over at Giles, who gave him a small smile. The yelp had sounded so real. He didn't know what he would do if Jacob ever ended up truly injured in front of him.

“Oh my God, it's working,” Willow whispered. 

A shadow had appeared at the cave entrance, along with a scraping sound, like claws against rock. Jacob appeared to struggle to stand, as though he were trying to get away. Just as he managed to get to his feet, a large, reptilian creature rushed out of the cave and tackled him to the ground. The Kalindel was a deep bronze color, looking like a small dragon, only without wings. It's body was larger than Jacob and easily pinned him to the ground. Jacob let out another yelp, this one real, as one of the Kalindel's clawed paws dug into his back.

Buffy heaved the silver tipped axe and rushed into the fray, quickly swinging the axe so it's blade embedded into the Kalindel's side before it had the chance to spot her. The Kalindel roared, lifting off of Jacob and swinging around to glare at Buffy with glowing yellow eyes. The motion allowed Buffy to pull the axe back and she stepped away, encouraging the demon to get off of Jacob.

The wolf scrambled to his feet and growled low in his throat, circling around to stand behind Buffy. Xander followed the others forward, pulling the long knife he had strapped to his hip out, just in case he needed to assist Buffy.

“Hello, big guy,” Buffy greeted, twisting the axe in her hands into a more comfortable hold. “I'm pretty sure you don't understand English, so that means I don't get to annoy you with my clever comments.”

She rushed forward and Xander watched as she proceeded to slice into the Kalindel's hide a couple more times before the demon got the better hand. With a loud roar, the Kalindel swiped at her with it's paw, sending her sprawling onto the ground. Unable to just stand idly by, Xander rushed forward, ignoring Jacob's attempt to keep him back. Brandishing his knife, Xander slammed into the side of the Kalindel and stabbed it in the hip.

Another roar echoed through the forest and the demon kicked out with one powerful leg, hitting Xander in his stomach. He felt like the air had been forced out of his lungs as pain erupted in his midsection. The pain was suddenly coupled with a terrible stinging sensation as one of the demon's sharp claws dug into his side, ripping open flesh. He felt his body fly back, followed by a shaking impact as he hit one of the trees. 

“Xander!” Willow yelled, rushing over. 

He looked up, eyes tearing. Past Willow he could see Jacob's hair stand on end as the wolf snapped his jaws, bared his teeth, and rushed forward. 

Jacob tackled the Kalindel from behind, jaws latching onto the demon's shoulder. Jacob's head yanked back, ripping off a piece of flesh in the process. The Kalindel screeched in pain, falling forward as Jacob bit down again.

“Pin him there!” Buffy ordered, picking up her axe and getting closer, carefully avoiding the Kalindel's snapping mouth. Xander saw a glint of silver as Buffy raised the axe. The sickening sound of flesh parting and bones breaking hit his ears just as he registered the axe descending, almost perfectly slicing off the Kalindel's head. Buffy raised the axe again and let it drop one more time, before slumping tiredly.

“Is it dead?” Willow asked from her position next to Xander, one of her hands rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. 

“Yes, it appears so,” Giles offered.

Xander opened his mouth to speak, but instead whimpered in pain. He looked down at his midsection to see blood blossoming along his side. He glanced up to see Jacob come forward, head lowered in worry. “I'm okay. I think. I'm kind of dizzy, though, and I think I'm going to pass out soon. I've survived worse, trust me. Jacob!”

Jacob had been insistently nudging his shirt with his nose, trying to reveal his wound. 

“He needs a doctor,” Willow said.

“Rory will freak if he finds out about this,” Xander mumbled, letting his head fall back against the ground with a thud. The world was feeling hazy and he suddenly wanted to fall asleep.

“We'll just tell him you got mauled by a bear or something,” Willow assured. 

Xander said something, but he really didn't know what. He closed his eyes. The others would take care of him. He could sleep for a bit.

*

Xander awoke to see Jacob glaring. Blinking, trying to adjust to the bright light of the room, it took Xander a moment to realize he was in the hospital. He followed Jacob's line of sight to see Carlisle standing on the other side of his bed, looking down at what appeared to be a medical chart. Xander cleared his throat. “Hey doc, fancy meeting you here.”

“Xander,” Jacob said, grabbing the nearest chair and dragging it over, “how are you feeling? Do you need anything? Are you in pain?”

“I'm feeling pretty darn fuzzy, actually,” Xander replied, letting Jacob take his hand. “Like a thermal blanket.”

“That would be the Percocet talking, I believe,” Carlisle announced, looking up. “You have quite a bit of bruising around your stomach and side. The gash you received wasn't too deep, thankfully. It's been stitched and you'll have to be extra careful about moving around for the next couple of weeks.”

“Been there, done that,” Xander said flippantly.

“Don't talk like that,” Jacob snapped. “You could have been seriously injured. I can't believe you did that! Don't you value your life at all? What if you had been killed?”

“I'll go let your uncle know your awake,” Carlisle said, quickly leaving the room.

Xander sighed and turned to Jacob. “I'm fine. It's happened before. I don't normally pass out, though.”

Jacob's jaw visibly clenched. “It's not happening again. This is the last time you go demon hunting, do you understand me?”

“I'm not someone you can just boss around--”

“Giles told me about some of your previous injuries while fighting this stuff. Those shadow vampires I can handle you fighting, especially with them all I have to do is rip off their heads if their fangs get too close to your neck, but Incan mummies, robots, and everything else you've been up against? No. I draw the line there.”

Xander was silent a moment. “Fine. It's not like I have much of an opportunity to fight demons while up here anyway. If I do come across one, I'll make sure either you or someone from your pack is with me. Will that make you happy?”

“You being alive and safe will make me happy,” Jacob replied.

“You're going to make me blush,” Xander teased. “Where are the others?”

“We weren't sure what time you'd wake up, so they went to get lunch,” Jacob said.

“Shit, I was out that long?”

“Yes. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry,” Xander said softly. Jacob stared at him for a moment, before leaning forward and kissing him. Xander kissed back with all the strength he had at the moment and, of course, that was how Rory found them.

Rory looked from Xander's blushing face to Jacob's defiant one, before clearly deciding to not comment. “So, bears, huh?”

“Uh, yeah,” Xander replied. “You know how I am. If anyone is going to stumble across an angry bear, it'll be me.”

*

Xander pulled away from Buffy's careful hug and turned to give Willow one as well. “You two be sure to torment Giles all the way home and then some, okay?”

“You know it,” Willow said brightly.

“Hey, wolf!” Buffy said, grabbing Jacob's arm. “Walk with me.”

Xander watched them walk away before turning to Willow with a raised eyebrow. Willow merely smiled, which was all the indication he needed to know that she knew exactly what Buffy was saying to make Jacob look nervous. “She's not threatening my boyfriend, is she?”

“Would Buffy do that?”

“Yes, and with great cheer in her heart,” he replied. “I'm going to go help Giles make sure he didn't leave anything behind.”

He headed inside the motel room to find Giles pulling a broadsword out from underneath the bed. He didn't say anything. Giles was always prepared for anything, even if it meant illegally having weapons under his mattress. He quickly walked around the room, picking up Buffy's glittery hair brush and a notebook Willow had left next to the television. 

“I do believe that's everything,” Giles said. They looked at each other for a moment, before Giles smiled. “You're doing well here, Xander. Injuries aside, of course.”

“Thanks. I hate to say it, but I think I could get used to it,” he admitted.

That was all the male bonding they seemed capable of for the day, so Xander followed Giles out to the car and threw the stuff he had been carrying into the backseat while Giles quickly slipped the broadsword into the trunk with an ease that indicated he had done so many, many times before. 

“So, I guess this is it,” Buffy said sadly. “You'll call us, won't you?”

“Every other night, as always,” Xander assured.

“And tell that Edward guy that if he continues to read your mind, we have no problem with sending him something very nasty and very cursed,” Buffy said.

“Darn tootin',” Willow agreed.

“Honestly, Buffy, I'm sure Edward is old enough in years that he knows when to keep out of other people's business,” Giles said.

“He's younger than Spike and we all remember how nosy that guy was,” Buffy retorted.

Giles said nothing in response to that, which either meant he was conceding that Buffy had a point or he didn't see the reasoning behind arguing with her. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Buffy said, before diving forward and giving Xander one more hug, this one a little harder than the last. Xander ignored the pain in his midsection and held his breath and hold in a gasp when Willow hugged him again just as enthusiastically. “Well...bye.”

“Bye,” Xander said with a small wave. 

He watched them climb into the car, sort of wishing that he could join them. The idea of returning to the town that his father lived in made the idea vanish, but briefly he wanted nothing more than to be going on a long road trip with his two best friends. Letting out a sigh, he watched them drive off, lost in thought until he felt Jacob's hand rest on his shoulder.

“So what did Buffy say to you?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“That expression doesn't look like nothing,” he commented, giving Jacob a look.

Jacob winced and shuffled his feet. “She said that if either my pack or I hurt you then she'd find a way to tear me from limb to limb. I, uh, kind of believe her.”

“I'd believe her, too,” he said, feeling a burst of warmth in his heart knowing Buffy would go to such great lengths to protect him. 

Jacob suddenly grinned. “She also said I have her full and complete support to torment, pester and constantly annoy the Cullen family whenever possible.”


End file.
